[사진=로이터·연합뉴스]
Reuters reported on the 12th (local time), citing two officials familiar with the matter, that the European Union (EU) is expected to approve Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines.
This is due to the EU’s positive evaluation of measures proposed by Korean Air, such as the sale of Asiana Airlines’ cargo division and the return of passenger route operation slots (airport take-off and landing times and frequencies, etc.) to four European cities.
If the EU approves Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines, only approval from the US and Japanese governments remains.
Korean Air received approval for the acquisition from antitrust authorities in several countries after announcing its plan to acquire Asiana Airlines for 1.8 trillion won in 2020, but competition for passengers and transportation on European routes may be reduced when the EU merges the two companies in May last year. He showed a negative attitude, saying,
Accordingly, Korean Air submitted a plan to sell Asiana Airlines’ cargo division and return flight slots to some European cities in November last year to obtain approval for the acquisition. Cities scheduled to return passenger route slots are Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome, Reuters reported.
“We will continue to work to obtain approval from the EC and remaining regulatory authorities,” a Korean Air official said.
Officials said that T’way Air is the likely buyer for Asiana Airlines’ cargo division, which is scheduled to be sold, as EU antitrust authorities have indicated that they prefer Asian, especially Korean, competitors.
As the EU has set the deadline for announcing approval for Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines as the 14th of next month, the official announcement is expected to be made sometime next month.
Meanwhile, in addition to Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines, the global aviation industry has recently witnessed several mergers and acquisitions, including German airline Lufthansa’s purchase of 41% of Italy’s ITA Airways and Spain’s Iberia Airlines’ parent company IAG’s purchase of 80% of Iberia Airlines’ remaining shares. Reuters reported that the M&A (M&A) wind is rising.
Reporter Information Jang Seong-won sotg813@ajunews.com
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