The US has reportedly approved Korean Air's takeover of Asiana Airlines, meaning the acquisition has now cleared its last regulatory hurdle.
South Korea-based Maeil Business Newspaper said that according to industry sources, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) gave the green light for the acquisition on December 2.
"In the case of the US Department of Justice review, the results are not announced separately," said the publication. "It has been reported that the Department of Justice has stated its position that if it does not file a monopoly lawsuit, it will be considered approval, and that it has decided not to file a lawsuit."
The US government department apparently did not specifically mention the sale of Asiana's cargo business to Air Incheon to enable Korean Air to meet conditions for acquiring Asiana, and so it remains unclear if this has been or is being addressed within the same approvals process or separately.
At the end of November, the European Commission confirmed that it had approved the sale of Asiana’s cargo business to Air Incheon.
On February 13, the Commission approved the proposed acquisition of Asiana by Korean, but as part of this, Korean had to commit to divesting Asiana’s cargo business in order to address concerns that the acquisition would result in reduced competition between Europe and South Korea.
Then in August, Korean signed a “basic business sale agreement” with Air Incheon for Asiana’s cargo business. The sale is worth approximately $342m.
The agreement followed June’s announcement that Air Incheon had been named as the preferred bidder for the sale of Asiana’s cargo business.
Korean said in January that it expects to complete the acquisition of Asiana this year.
Korean first announced its plan to acquire Asiana in November 2020, but the acquisition proceedings were delayed by the Covid pandemic and resulting disruption in the airline industry.
Then last year, the plan sparked concern by the Commission, which said the takeover would result in reduced competition between Europe and South Korea because the two carriers dominate the long-haul market to and from South Korea..
To secure regulatory approval from Brussels for the move, Korean offered to sell Asiana's cargo business in October 2023.
https://www.aircargonews.net/business/acquisitions/eu-approves-sale-of-asianas-cargo-business-to-air-incheon/
https://www.aircargonews.net/1072712.article
