(Updates to market close)
** Shares of Surf Air Mobility Inc SRFM.N sink in debut
after co switches gears to a direct listing (DL)
** SRFM opened at $5 and descended as low as $2.75 on the
session
** Stock closes on Thurs at $3.15, 84% below NYSE $20
reference price. About 2.7 mln shares changed hands
** Surf Air chose DL route to public markets after
terminating $1.4 bln SPAC merger last year
** Similar to previous DLs, Surf Air did not raise equity
from investors, but alternative investment manager GEM Global
buying 1 mln shares at $25 in private placement, per the SEC
filing
** Morgan Stanley acting as lead adviser on the DL
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))