High-flying Brazil airline Azul may postpone IPO due to market conditions

Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras SA, Brazil’s third-biggest airline, is considering postponing an initial public offering scheduled as early as next month due to adverse market conditions, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said on Monday.

The company, which planned to sell stock in a so-called primary offering, with shareholders partially exiting their stake in the company through a so-called secondary offering, could resume the plan later in the year should turmoil in global financial markets ease, said the source, who declined to be cited because the decision remains private.

An official announcement could come within a week or so, the source said.

The total size of the transaction was expected to reach about 1 billion reais ($450 million), sources told Reuters recently. Azul hired the investment banking units of Banco Santander Brasil, Banco do Brasil SA, Itaú Unibanco Holding SA and Morgan Stanley & Co to handle the deal.