Brazil's TAM Buying Airbus Jets
07.26.2004, 01:11 PM

Brazil's largest airline, TAM Linhas Aereas SA, will buy 10 Airbus passenger jets to expand its fleet, the carrier said Monday.

The cost of the Airbus 320s was not disclosed, but TAM said they would be delivered over a four-year period starting next year.

The airline also has an option to buy 20 more of the jets and will make a decision after reviewing prospects for passenger demand in the South American market, the company said. The carrier already has 53 Airbus jets.

The airline is also considering an initial public stock offering early next year in Sao Paulo and New York to raise between US$100 million and US$200 million. TAM currently lists less than 1 percent of its stock in Sao Paulo.

Brazil's Rolim family owns 73 percent of the airline's capital, with the rest held by investment funds.

The country's No. 3 airline, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, raised about US$280 million last month through an IPO in Sao Paulo and New York. Most of the money will help finance an expansion that could eventually triple the company's fleet of Boeing 737s.

Fonte: Forbes