Four companies, Jeju Air, Air Premia (JC Partners), Eastar Jet (VIG Partners), and Air Incheon (Socius), participated in the preliminary bidding for the sale of Asiana Airlines' cargo business.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 28th, UBS, the lead manager of the sale, completed the preliminary bidding for the sale of Asiana's cargo business at 2 p.m. that day. It is known that four low-cost carriers (LCCs) submitted letters of intent (LOI) to acquire the business.
T'way Air did not participate in this cargo business acquisition battle, and another candidate, Aero K Airlines, also did not participate.
Asiana Cargo Division's annual sales exceed 1 trillion won. The sale price is expected to be up to about 700 billion won.
Korean Air submitted a corrective action plan including the sale of Asiana's cargo business to the European Union (EU) Commission in November last year. The EU approved the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines on the condition that these corrective measures are implemented.
KDB Industrial Bank, the creditor of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, plans to shortlist qualified bidders soon and then conduct due diligence. The final buyer selection is expected to take place within this year. However, even after selecting a buyer, the sale can only proceed after obtaining EU approval.
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