Virgin Australia shares rallied 8.3% on Tuesday, after its 685 million Australian dollar ($439 million) initial public offering, a transaction dealmakers hope will revive a subdued listings market.
The airline sold 236.2 million shares at AU$2.90 each, valuing it at AU$2.32 billion on a fully diluted basis.
The stock began trading at AU$3.14, outpacing a 1.2% gain in the Australian benchmark S&P/ASX200
Virgin’s listing comes amid operational disruptions, with the airline diverting two Qatar-bound flights to India and Oman, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. Qatar temporarily closed its airspace ahead of Iran launching missiles at a U.S. base in the state. Virgin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Shares of Qantas, the main rival to Virgin Australia, climbed 4% on Tuesday following a 7% drop in global oil prices the previous day, after Iran took no action to disrupt oil and gas tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
