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Wizz Air shares rise in conditional trade after IPO priced

* Offer priced at 1,150 pence/ordinary share

* Shares (Frankfurt: DI6.F - news) rise over 9 percent in conditional trade

* CEO says IPO opens up plane financing options (Recasts with initial trading, adds CEO comments)

BERLIN, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Shares in Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air Holdings Plc rose over 9 percent in unofficial trading after the carrier won approval for a London stock market listing just eight months after a failed attempt.

Wizz Air's shares, which formally list on March 2, were changing hands at 1,240 pence on Wednesday in conditional trading anticipating the listing. That was up 7.8 percent from the initial public offering price of 1,150 pence. The shares reached highs of 1,256 pence.

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The initial offer price gives the company a listed market value of 601 million pounds ($930 million).

Wizz Air, which mainly serves routes in and to central and eastern Europe, had pulled plans for an IPO last June, citing market volatility.

Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi told Reuters Wizz had delivered on financial and operating targets since then, and that overall investment sentiment had likely been helped by falling oil prices.

"We created a track record of credibility, which I think made a significant difference this time," he said on Wednesday.

The money raised will help Wizz Air compete with larger rivals Ryanair Holdings Plc (LSE: RYA.L - news) and easyJet Plc and give it more financing options as it prepares to take delivery of 27 new Airbus A321 planes from November.

Varadi said the new planes, which have 50 more seats than its current A320 fleet, would allow it to reduce unit costs by around 9 percent.

He said the group, which started operations in 2003 and has sharply increased its capacity since 2012 when Hungarian national flag carrier Malev declared bankruptcy, would be disciplined about capacity growth.

"We are a financially geared business, focused on profitability and shareholder value; we will not grow for growth's sake," he said.

He added Wizz, whose fleet is due to grow to 85 aircraft by the end of 2017 from a current 54, was not looking at starting routes within western Europe, and would continue with its focus on central and eastern Europe.

Wizz gains net proceeds of about 103 million pounds from the IPO, while selling shareholders, comprising senior management, employees, ex-employees and other investors, will receive net proceeds of about 154 million pounds.

U.S. private equity firm Indigo Partners, the airline's lead investor, will have a 19.6 percent equity stake in Wizz Air unless over-allotment options are exercised, the company said.

JPMorgan Cazenove, Citi and Barclays Bank Plc are joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners for the IPO.

($1 = 0.6465 pounds) (Reporting Victoria Bryan in Berlin; Additional reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru and Marton Dunai in Budapest; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi and Ruth Pitchford)