Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) expects to complete its merger with Asiana Airlines (OZ, Seoul Incheon) by mid-December pending confirmation from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that it has no significant antitrust concerns. After four years of waiting, the flag carrier has moved forward its anticipated merger date from December 20 to December 11, the Maekyung business newspaper reported.
The DOJ remains the last of the major antitrust regulators to give the deal the green light. As recently reported in ch-aviation, it is understood that the agency has verbally informed Korean Air that it has no objections, but the confirmation is yet to be made official. ch-aviation has contacted the DOJ for comment.
The merger will involve Korean Air taking a 63.9% stake in its smaller rival and in doing so, becoming one of world's largest passenger airlines. Asiana will continue to survive as a brand for about two years before being subsumed into the Korean Air brand. Korean still needs to pay KRW800 billion won (USD566 million) of the KRW1.5 trillion (USD1.06 billion) purchase price. It will do so on December 11.
The merger promises to significantly shake up South Korea's commercial airline market. In addition to the Asiana brand eventually disappearing, the two carriers' low-cost subsidies will also fold into one brand and become the country's largest low-cost airline. Korean Air has confirmed to ch-aviation that Air Busan (BX, Busan) and Air Seoul (RS, Seoul Incheon) would be rebranded as Jin Air (LJ, Jeju) after the merger.
