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By Sarah Young and Abhinav Ramnarayan
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Britain's Easyjet will
hold investor calls on Tuesday ahead of a potential seven-year
benchmark euro bond issue, according to an announcement seen by
Reuters, as the airline seeks to boost its finances and ride out
the pandemic.
Encouraged by positive news about travel in its biggest
market Britain on Monday, easyJet appointed BNP Paribas, Morgan
Stanley and Santander as joint bookrunners to run the bond sale,
the announcement said.
No details were provided on how much the airline is looking
to raise from the sale, but a "benchmark" euro bond issue
typically has a deal size of about 500 million euros or more.
EasyJet shares and bonds have jumped over the last day,
helped by Britain's lockdown easing announcement which said
international travel could be allowed from May 17, with a
promise to provide further details on borders reopening on April
12.
The airline has been trying to raise its liquidity as the
pandemic has dragged on and has repeatedly said it would assess
opportunities for further funding.
To survive the pandemic so far, easyJet has axed 4,500
staff, tapped shareholders for cash, and sold dozens of its
aircraft. It took on a new five-year loan facility of $1.87
billion in January, backed by a partial guarantee from
Britain.
Investors will now hope that the worst of the crisis is
behind it.
EasyJet said that bookings for flights for this summer had
soared over 300% since Britain's announcement, and holidays by
more than 600%, compared to their levels last week.
The stock traded up 8% to 961 pence at 1408 GMT, hitting its
highest level since last March.
EasyJet's outstanding bond maturing in June 2025 saw its
yield -- which moves inversely with price -- drop a hefty 23.7
basis points on the day to 1.668%.
(Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan and Sarah Young
Editing by Rachel Armstrong and David Evans)
