easyJet, the low-cost airline, has showed that even airlines can raise money in the equity markets with a £146m (€236m) placing that was nearly five times oversubscribed.
Strong interest in the offering, despite the shake-up in the airline sector since September 11, meant the company could price the shares at a discount of just 2%. Simon Aird, vice-president in equity capital markets at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), which managed the deal with UBS Warburg, said: "It was a tight discount, but the uptake of the offering and the quality of the book warranted it."
