LATAM Airlines readies NYSE listing at $8.5 billion potential valuation

(Reuters) - LATAM Airlines is preparing to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a move that could fetch it a valuation of $8.5 billion, the company said on Thursday.

The Santiago, Chile-based carrier could raise over $533 million for its selling shareholders if it were to sell shares at a price near its last close on the Chilean stock exchanges, where they are already listed.

Companies based outside the U.S. often seek a New York listing to command a richer valuation and access a deeper pool of capital.

LATAM Airlines' listing, however, would come at a time when shares of some newly listed firms have stumbled, undermining the recovery in initial public offerings (IPOs) seen this year.

The company traces its origins to as far back as 1929 and has a significant presence in South America, including in Santiago and Sao Paulo.

It went bankrupt in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered travel demand, but emerged from bankruptcy two years later.

The company's shareholders plan to sell 19 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs), which would be listed under the symbol "LTM." It would not receive any proceeds from the share sale.

Goldman Sachs, Barclays and J.P. Morgan are the global coordinators for the listing, LATAM Airlines said.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)