Wheels Up shares surge in debut following SPAC merger

Wheels Up Experience Inc. shares soared nearly 20% on Wednesday, on the market debut after a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company.

Wheels Up went public merging with Aspirational Consumer Lifestyle Corp, a blank-check company to avoid conventional public offering.  

Shares were trading at $11.75, on Wednesday afternoon. Aspirational Consumer shares ended at $9.93 on Tuesday.

The purchase netted Wheels Up more than $650 million, including cash from the SPAC and private investment in a public stock that accompanied the acquisition.

Since our 2013 launch, it has been our mission to create a dynamic platform to democratize private aviation making it possible for significantly more people to experience private flying,” said Kenny Dichter, Founder, and CEO at Wheels Up, in a statement. “We are honored to be a public company on the NYSE.”

Delta Air Lines Inc combined its private-jet arm with Wheels Up and acquired a share in the firm last year. Delta held 24 % of Wheels Up as of the first quarter of the current year.

According to the business, Wheels Up had over 11,000 active members last year and flew over 44,000 flight legs. Its sales increased to $695 million from $384.9 million the previous year. The firm reported a net loss of $85.4 million, down from $106.9 million in 2019.

Wheels Up had a record year-over-year revenue growth of 68% to $261.7 million and a 56% increase in current members.

Wheels Up stated in a SPAC deal presentation earlier this year, that the coronavirus pandemic was prompting more people to explore flying privately. Passenger numbers on regular airlines in the U.S. have lately recovered as the pandemic has begun to subside.

With inputs from WSJ

Picture Credits: Forbes