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ADQ taps banks for Etihad Airways’ potential listing

Ownership of Etihad Airways was transferred to UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ in 2022 to boost Abu Dhabi’s status as a transport hub Etihad
Ownership of Etihad Airways was transferred to UAE sovereign wealth fund ADQ in 2022 to boost Abu Dhabi’s status as a transport hub

ADQ, the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, has tapped advisers, including Citigroup, HSBC Holdings and First Abu Dhabi Bank, for a potential initial public offering of Etihad Airways.

Rothschild & Co. will act as an independent financial adviser, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources.

The fund may add more banks later, they said.

In 2022, Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs transferred ownership of Etihad Airways to ADQ to boost the emirate’s status as a transport hub.

Earlier this month, Etihad reported a more than fivefold increase in net profit to AED525 million ($143 million) in 2023, helped by a 40 percent increase in passengers and AED20.3 billion in revenues.

The emirate’s state-owned airline gave staff a heads-up about its 2023 financial performance in an internal memo sent on January 25, AGBI reported last month. 

The airline carried 14 million passengers, resulting in a 31 percent rise in passenger revenue to AED16.6 billion.

The passenger load factor, which measures how efficiently an airline fills available seats, rose to 86 percent from 82 percent in 2022.