United Nigeria Airlines backs expansion drive with landmark ₦22bn capital raise

For decades, Nigeria’s capital markets have viewed commercial aviation through a lens of extreme caution. High operational volatility, foreign exchange pressures, and heavy debt burdens have historically made institutional investors hesitant to back domestic carriers with non-bank debt instruments.

That long-standing status quo has now been broken.

United Nigeria Airlines (UNA) has successfully closed the first tranche of its ₦100 billion Commercial Paper (CP) programme, raising ₦22 billion in a historic debut that marks the first-ever commercial paper issuance by an airline in Nigeria’s financial history.

Initially targeting ₦20 billion across Series 1 and Series 2, the issuance encountered strong appetite across the institutional spectrum, generating over ₦5 billion in excess demand.

Demonstrating financial discipline, the airline chose to absorb only a 10% upsize—bringing the total raised to ₦22 billion and returned the remaining unallocated subscriptions to investors.

The transaction drew interest from a broad cross-section of institutional money, including asset managers, insurance firms, and high-net-worth individuals.

Managing Director of United Nigeria Airlines, Osita Okonkwo, said, “The level of demand we received is a clear endorsement of our business model, our financial performance, and the confidence the market has in our growth plans. The proceeds will directly support fleet expansion and operational efficiency. We are grateful to the investors who participated, and we look forward to deeper engagement as we execute future tranches of our capital market programmes.”

Speaking on the transaction’s execution, the Managing Director, Meristem Capital Limited, Rasaki Salawu said, “We are proud to have served as Lead Issuing House for this historic debut. This is the first commercial paper issuance by an airline in Nigeria, and despite receiving excess demand of over ₦5 billion, the issuer opted for financial prudence by upsizing by just 10%. This discipline reflects sound financial governance, and we believe this landmark transaction will meaningfully accelerate the airline’s expansion targets.”

The fresh capital injection comes at a pivotal juncture in United Nigeria Airlines’ expansion roadmap.

The carrier currently serves 14 domestic and regional destinations across Nigeria and Ghana, with active plans underway to deepen its regional network. The airline also holds designated flag-carrier approvals for six international routes.

Wole Shadare