Surf Air Mobility to acquire Southern Airways and float on NYSE

Surf Air Mobility has announced it expects to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) next week, preceded by an acquisition of Southern Airways. 

After cancelling plans for a SPAC merger in 2022, Surf Air is now set to become the first direct stock of 2023 and will trade under the ticker symbol ‘SRFM’. In a statement to investors, the firm said that a registration statement has been filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) but has not yet become effective. 

The move will also see the company acquire Southern Airways, which primarily uses Cessna Caravans to fly passengers throughout the USA. According to a filing on the SEC, Southern could become a subsidiary of Surf Air Mobility immediately before the listing, which would happen “as soon as practicable”.

The right to receive a number of shares of Surf Air Mobility’s common stock equal to $81.25m or 12% of the shares upon listing will be given to Southern stockholders. Also, Surf Air will also remain a wholly-owned subsidiary of Surf Air Mobility, with the parent owning directly or indirectly all of the equity securities, assets, business and operations of each of Surf Air and Southern.

Surf Air Mobility is a regional air mobility platform that — once FAA approval is obtained — intends to develop retrofittable powertrain technology to electrify existing aircraft fleets with its commercial partners. Together with Southern, Surf Air Mobility’s footprint covers 44 cities, serving over 99,000 passengers with over 18,000 departures in the the first quarter of 2023.

Combined the operations of Surf Air and Southern, Surf Air Mobility said as well as plans to develop hybrid-electric and fully-electric powertrain technology, it also intends to create financing and services infrastructure to enable this transition industry-wide. “We believe operating as a publicly traded company and having efficient access to growth capital will allow us to accelerate the implementation of our strategic plan,” it stated in the SEC filing.

A copy of the prospectus related to the registration statement may be obtained by visiting the SEC website.