Cebu Pacific Aims to Raise $500 Million to Beat Pandemic

Cebu Pacific (CEB) aims to raise $500 million or ₱12 billion to fund its business as the aviation and tourism industry continues to face significant challenges because of the coronavirus pandemic.

CEB aims to raise $250 million in convertible preferred shares, and another $250 million in privately placed convertible bonds.

CEB said in a statement “Travel restrictions imposed by various governments, both local and abroad, have led to abrupt reduction in passenger traffic for the corporation and cast uncertainty over the near term prospects,”

The airline added “The proceeds from this Business Transformation Fundraising Plan shall be used to strengthen the balance sheet of the Corporation and for general corporate purposes,”

Lance Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific and JG Summit Holdings, Inc president, said “We need to create a longer runway for CEB so that we can continue providing affordable and accessible air transport services for everyjuan,”

CEB reported company revenue has declined by 61.2% for the first half of 2020, has been forced to cut a quarter of its workforce of 4,000, and operates at about 15% of pre-pandemic operations.