KUALA LUMPUR (May 23): Shares of AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) fell as much as 5.7% to their intraday low of RM1.81 in early trade on Tuesday (May 23) after the medium-haul low-cost airline said it had priced its private placement at RM1.55 per share.
At close, shares of the airline eased slightly to RM1.90, down two sen or 1.04%, with 13.72 million shares changing hands. The stock closed at RM1.92 on Monday — its highest close in more than five years.
On Monday, AAX said it plans to issue 32.26 million new shares, equivalent to 7.78% of its total issued shares, to AHAM Asset Management Bhd, AIIMAN Asset Management Sdn Bhd and Lavin Group Sdn Bhd at RM1.55 each, which works out to a total of RM50 million.
The issue price represented a discount of 15.96 sen or 9.34% to the five-day volume weighted average market price of AAX shares of RM1.7096 per share on May 19.
The placement will be used for working capital, which involves aircraft activation and maintenance costs and other operating expenses such as leases and insurance.
The proposed exercise is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.