The transaction will add to the US$89bil of deals announced in the transport industry globally over the last 12 months.
ISTANBUL: MNG Airlines, a logistics and transport company, is going public through a merger with a blank-check company led by European dealmakers Makram Azar and Scott Freidheim.
The deal with Golden Falcon Acquisition Corp has an expected enterprise value of US$676mil (RM2.97bil), according to a statement yesterday.
Istanbul-based MNG Airlines, which started operations in 1996, is part of Turkish construction tycoon Mehmet Nazif Gunal’s Mapa Group conglomerate.
It serves more than 15,000 customers in 41 countries with over 3,500 flights per year.
Air freight has enjoyed booming demand in recent years thanks to increased consumer spending and the rise of eCommerce, especially during the Covid pandemic.
The transaction will add to the US$89bil (RM390bil) of deals announced in the transport industry globally over the last 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“This company is in the middle of what you can call the modern Silk Route,” Azar, a former Barclays Plc dealmaker, said in an interview. “That presents a huge competitive advantage to benefit from the global trade flows which are increasingly shifting towards the east.”
MNG Airlines has a “huge opportunity” in an industry that’s seeing strong pricing power and capacity constraints, according to Azar.
The company can expand further through acquisitions into parts of Europe and the United States, he said.
The company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the “MNGA” ticker after completion of the deal, expected in the first half of next year.
The transaction values MNG Airlines, formally known as MNG Havayollari ve Tasimacilik AS, at about 5.8 times its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation over the past 12 months.
Golden Falcon raised US$345mil (RM1.5bil) in its December 2020 initial public offering, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
It’s been hunting for targets in Europe and the Middle East.
Azar was previously chairman of banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Barclays. He now runs private investment and advisory group Full Circle Capital Ltd.
He started the special purpose acquisition company or SPAC with Freidheim, the former European head at alternative investment firm Investcorp Holdings BSC. The blank-cheque firm’s board members include Xavier Rolet, ex-chief executive officer of London Stock Exchange Group Plc. — Bloomberg
