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Jeju Air owner confirms interest in Asiana
May 31st 2019
Korea’s second largest airline would be significant acquisition for AK Group. Read More »
AK Group has confirmed it is interested in bidding for Asiana Airlines, according to Yonhap TV. The group helped establish Jeju Air and remains a significant shareholder in the publicly traded airline. Jeju Air is Korea’s largest LCC by far and the country’s third largest airline, albeit well behind Asiana which holds the number two spot.
Local media have speculated companies interested in Asiana include AK, Hanhwa and SK. Jeju Air has become a cash flow source for AK and is profitable. But Asiana is expected to be worth around KRW2 trillion (US$1.7 billion) making it a significant acquisition for AK, whose total assets are reported to be KRW5.2 trillion.
The Asiana sale process is expected to begin in July and conclude later in 2019. One industry observer wondered if an AK takeover of Asiana would be anti-competitive and possibly risky in the event Jeju Air is negatively impacted.
