Saudi Arabian Airlines' initial public offering for its catering unit should get approval from the regulators in May, it said yesterday (April 30).

'The proposal is with the markets regulatory authority. I believe we should get the approval within one month,' spokesman Abdullah Al Ajhar was quoted as saying in our sister publication the Gulf Daily News.

The IPO, which analysts estimate to be worth between $400 million and $540m, was initially planned for the third quarter of 2010 and was postponed to the end of last year, awaiting regulatory approval.

The Saudi national carrier started a process of privatisation in 2006 by dividing the company into six units - catering, cargo, maintenance, airlines, flight academy and ground handling.