TORONTO - Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. is considering alternate ways to finance its growth after deciding it is worth more than investors were willing to offer and putting its initial public offering on hold.

"As much as we wanted to raise some capital and it seemed the IPO process was the right way to do it, we weren't prepared to sell our stock at any price," Porter president and chief executive Robert Deluce said Tuesday.

Deluce said the airline decided to suspend the offering altogether rather than lowering the price which had been targeted at between $6 and $7 per share.

"Given the current market conditions, our board and shareholder group just came to the decision that it was prudent to defer the offering at this time to some time later on potentially this year when market conditions resume some level of stability," he said.

"We're well-positioned until equity markets stabilize before deciding whether or not we're going to proceed with any new public offering."

When the company embarked on the IPO process, market conditions were good, but deteriorated as it worked through the details, said Deluce, who added that the company has other options to fund its growth privately.

Porter, which began operations in 2006, flies short-haul routes within Canada and to the United States. The regional airline, based at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the city's waterfront, had planned to use the offering to build working capital, including the possible acquisition of more aircraft.

The airline has been expanding rapidly, recently adding routes to Sudbury in northern Ontario and to Moncton, N.B.

Porter markets itself as a more convenient alternative to other airlines due to its location close to downtown Toronto. WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSX:WJA), Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) and other, smaller airlines operate out of Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, west of Toronto.

Robert Kokonis, president of airline consultancy Air Trav Inc., was shocked Porter suspended the IPO.

He said while Porter's fundamentals remain strong, the decision was likely based on a combination of factors including volatile airline indexes, concern about the European debt crisis spreading, and questions about the U.S. recovery.

Kokonis said he believes Porter will come back with another public offering once the global economy becomes more stable.

"So many people have been burned by airline equities I guess the feeling is there's real cold feet out there in the market and I think the investment community, the institutional players simply want to see a little bit more stability before they dive in," he said.