Arik Air (W3, Lagos) is considering going public next year with Goldmann Sachs and Nigeria-based investment banking firm Vetiva Capital Management Ltd recruited as IPO advisers. Local industry sources told Nigeria's ThisDay newspaper that studies are still in their early stages with no definitive decision taken as yet.
Abuja has indicated its willingness to appoint Arik Air Nigeria's national carrier should it open up its shareholding to the public. The move would then confer Arik Air with preferential rights and/or privileges for international operations - traffic rights in particular.
Founded by Nigerian businessman Michael Arumemi-Ikhide in 2005, Arik Air currently operates a fleet of twenty-four aircraft - two A330-200s, nine B737-700s, four B737-800s, one CRJ1000, four CRJ900s, and four Dash 8-400s - on flights throughout Nigeria as well as to Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Since the collapse of Nigeria Airways (Lagos) over 10 years ago, Nigeria has seen a number of carriers attempt to hold the mantle of national carrier, the last of which was Virgin Nigeria (Lagos) (later Air Nigeria (Lagos) following Virgin Atlantic's withdrawal from the project).
As previously reported, Goodluck Jonathan's administration had considered consolidating the majority state-owned carrier Aero Contractors (N2, Lagos) with the remains of Air Nigeria to form a new national airline - Nigerian Eagle (2013) (Lagos) - in 2013. The plan, however, failed to materialize after government failed to reach an agreement with AeroContractors' 40% shareholder, the Ibru family, over funding and equity holdings in Nigerian Eagle.
