Asiana Airlines board meets again to decide on sale of cargo unit

ASIANA AIRLINES

02/11/2023 24:51

SEOUL, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The board of South Korea's
Asiana Airlines  020560.KS  is due to meet again on Thursday to
decide whether to agree to sell its cargo service, which would
help clear the way for a proposed merger with Korean Air Lines
 003490.KS . 
    Selling Asiana's air cargo business and divesting routes to
some European Union cities is a remedy prepared by Korean Air,
South Korea's biggest carrier, to gain EU antitrust approval for
acquiring its rival.
    However, Korean Air's acquisition plan still needs approval
from the EU, the United States and Japan.
    Asiana creditors, including state-run lender Korea
Development Bank, have been looking for a new owner of the
debt-laden carrier for several years. Korean Air agreed to
acquire Asiana in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    As of the first half of 2023, Asiana operated 11 cargo
planes according to a company filing. The cargo service has 21
routes to 25 cities in 12 countries around the world, including
the United States, Germany and Russia. It held a 20.7% share of
South Korea's overseas cargo market. 
    Shares in Asiana were trading up 0.1%, versus the benchmark
KOSPI's  .KS11  1.7% rise as of 0045 GMT. 

 (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang
Editing by Ed Davies)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com;))