JetBlue is only offering approximately ten percent of the firm’s outstanding shares; a successful I.P.O. will
help to not only raise short-term capital, but also provide access to future capital. Increasing the share priceaggressively will dampen demand and reduce the publicity buzz surrounding the event and the company. Inline with the benefits of underpricing we agree with a more conservative pricing range as suggested by theMorgan Stanley underwriters.
Is the I.P.O Worth the Expense?
A good valuation of the I.P.O. share offering will leave money on the table. In addition to that loss, JetBluewill have to pay legal, accounting, and underwriting fees associated with public offerings. Is it worth it?From an operation perspective, the I.P.O. supplies capital to JetBlue which the firm can use to increasecompetitiveness and support aggressive growth.From a financing perspective, JetBlue investors will gain access to a more liquid equity market which will
reduce JetBlue’s cost of capital
from the much higher cost of private equity. Additionally, the new equitywill lower the debt to equity ratio. With a lower debt to equity ratio, JetBlue will then have increasedaccess to the debt market with more favorable terms. The ability to access more debt can then be used toagain decrease the cost of capital by altering the capital structure of JetBlue to take advantage of the taxadvantages provided by debt financing. The tax shield of the debt financing will increase the enterprisevalue of the company.
Comparable Companies Analysis
P/E Multiple
Using the leading P/E multiple method of valuation is standard practice in the airline industry (Yale Schoolof Management, 2002). However, in our analysis (figure 1) the comparison sample size had to be reducedto include only low-cost airlines with
positive
earnings which limited the scope of the relative values. Due tothe small sample size, the average P/E r
atio was skewed high towards Frontier’s outlying performance.
Therefore we determined that the median P/E ratio of comparable companies provided a more accuratefigure. With predicted earnings per share in 2002
of $1.20, JetBlue’s price per share would be $34.12.
Underpricing gives uninformed investors normal return.