Shares have fallen in Norwegian Air this morning after it launched an emergency bid to raise 3bn kroner (£268 million) through a rights issue.
Shares fell 30% after news of the emergency fundraising was declared. It follows an announcement that preliminary earnings for 2018 showed an operating loss of roughly 3.8bn kroner.
A rights issue allows existing company shareholders the chance to buy new shares at a special price.
Norwegian’s largest shareholders, chief executive Bjorn Kjos and chairman Bjorn Halvor Kise, have already committed to buying 343m kroner-worth of shares, and other large shareholders have said they will take 267m kroner.
The cash injection call comes less than a week after International Airlines Group (IAG) said it would ditch its plan to buy the airline. Norwegian is not currently in talks with any other buyer.
IAG’s decision last Thursday saw Norwegian shares drop 20%.
Kjos said the airline would change its strategic focus from growth to making cost savings.
He said: "We will now get in place a strengthened balance sheet that supports the further development of the company."
In a statement, the airline added that this would ‘increase its competitiveness and stand-alone financial strength’.
The carrier said flights were unaffected by the news.
