[Featured Stock] T'way Air Soars 8% as Sono International Becomes Major Shareholder

8.62% Increase... Highest Price Since May
SonoInter Acquires 14.9% Stake... Becomes 2nd Largest Shareholder
Hantoo "Need to Reassess T'way Air's Long-Term Growth Potential"

T'way Air is surging sharply in early trading. The expectation for a valuation reassessment is growing as Sono International becomes a major shareholder.

As of 9:04 AM on the 2nd, T'way Air is trading at 2,960 KRW, up 8.62% from the previous day. This is the highest price since May.

On the previous day, T'way Air disclosed that W Value Up Limited, the second-largest shareholder, sold 32,091,467 shares (14.9%) of T'way Air to Sono International at 3,290 KRW per share in an over-the-counter transaction. The total sale amount is approximately 105.6 billion KRW.

W Value Up Limited is an investment purpose company established by the private equity fund (PEF) management firm JKL Partners. It previously held a 26.77% stake in T'way Air. Through this sale, Sono International becomes the new second-largest shareholder of T'way Air. According to the 2023 audit report, the major shareholder Park Chun-hee and related parties hold 64.07% of Sono International's shares. Park Chun-hee, the honorary chairman of Sono International, is the head of Daemyung Sono Group, and Sono International is the holding company of Daemyung Sono Group.

With the restructuring of the shareholding structure among key investors related to T'way Air completed, interest in the company's long-term management strategy and future development direction is expected to increase. Sono International will also have a call option to purchase the remaining 11.9% stake held by JKL Partners until the end of September. The sale price corresponds to nine times the projected price-earnings ratio (PER) for next year. This implies that T'way Air's valuation is about 700 billion KRW.

Choi Go-woon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "Paying a premium indicates that they may be aiming for the position of the largest shareholder," adding, "Although investments in the airline industry tend to have a very short time horizon, this issue provides an opportunity to reassess the long-term growth potential of T'way Air, which is attracting attention from Daemyung Sono Group." He also stated, "While profit fluctuations are inevitable this year due to preparations for long-haul flights, ultimately, it is expected to fill the gap left by Asiana Airlines."