S.Korea's Aekyung, KCGI make binding bids for Asiana Airlines stake (updated)

AK Holdings

07/11/2019 06:16

(Adds KCGI participation, background, share prices)
    SEOUL, Nov 7 (Reuters) - A consortium led by South Korean
retail-to-airline group Aekyung and activist fund KCGI submitted
rival bids for a controlling stake in Asiana Airlines Inc
 020560.KS , the country's No. 2 carrier, company officials said
on Thursday. 
    The 31.05% stake, worth about 382 billion won ($329.2
million) at current prices, has been put up for sale by top
shareholder Kumho Industrial Co Ltd  002990.KS  as it struggles
to reduce debt.
    Kumho Industrial in April hired Credit Suisse to manage the
sale of its stake in Asiana Airlines.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS6N211009
    Aekyung also has a stake in the country's largest budget
carrier Jeju Air  089590.KS . 
    Asiana shares slid nearly 5.2% while its budget arm, Air
Busan Co Ltd  298690.KS , gained about 2%, and maintenance
affiliate Asiana IDT Inc  267850.KS  rose nearly 4.5% as of 0538
GMT.
    Analysts said the absence of bids from major funds and big
conglomerates like SK Group and GS Group spooked investors.
    Shares of AK Holdings  006840.KS , the holding firm Aekyung
Group, extended their gains to rise as much as 25%, while
Aekyung Industrial  018250.KS  surged more than 15%.
    South Korean fund KCGI partnered with BankerStreet to form a
consortium to bid for the Asiana stake, an official said. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N25U0GT  
    The sale comes as major South Korean carriers struggle with
losses and debts amid rising competition from budget carriers,
higher fuel costs, unfavourable currencies and falling tourism
traffic between South Korea and Japan.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24V0O7
($1 = 1,160.5800 won)

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin; Additional
reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman
and Stephen Coates)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 6936 1470;))