London: The low-fare airline Easyjet took off on its first day of trading in London on Wednesday, seeing its stock rise by 11 per cent to 344.5 pence by mid-day, from a launch price of 310 pence. Easyjet is floating 63 million shares, about 25 per cent of its capital, on the London Stock Exchange.Unconditional dealing is expected to begin on November 22. The offer price of 310 pence unveiled on Wednesday, available to institutional investors only, valued the airline at about 777 million pounds (1.29 billion euros, 1.11 billion dollars).
Easyjet Chairman Stelios Haji-Ioannou said he was "delighted by the high level of interest and support that institutional shareholders have shown in easyJet." The flotation was a "significant milestone" for the airline and would fund the purchase of new Boeing jets and encourage greater worker productivity through company share schemes, he added.
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