Asiana Airlines held an extraordinary general meeting on the 25th and approved the partitioning merger contract with Air Incheon, concluding the procedures for the sale of its cargo business.
The general meeting took place that morning at the headquarters in Oseo-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, where 1,007,039,624 shares were represented out of a total issued share count of 200,599,711, with 1,696,254,496 shares voting in favor (99.93%), thus approving the cargo business sale.
Asiana Airlines entered into a partitioning merger contract with Air Incheon on Jan. 16, with the sale price set at 470 billion won.
This case occurred as a condition for approval from the European Commission and the Japan Fair Trade Commission regarding the merger with Korean Air, and was carried out following the conclusion of the new share purchase transaction.
The European Commission conditionally approved the merger last February, requiring the transfer of Korean Air's European passenger routes (Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Barcelona) and the sale of Asiana Airlines' cargo business.
As a result, the European passenger routes will be transferred to T’way Air, and the cargo business has been decided to be sold to Air Incheon. This approval during the extraordinary general meeting marks the completion of the formal procedures for the partitioning merger of Asiana Airlines' cargo business.
Asiana Airlines plans to complete the transfer of Air Incheon’s material and human resources by June 10. The transfer will involve 10 Boeing 747 freighters and one Boeing 767 freighter, totaling 11 freighters and approximately 800 employees.
An official from Asiana Airlines noted, "We will enhance our remaining passenger transportation capabilities more professionally, improve our financial structure through earmarked tax from the sale, and increase management efficiency. Also, we will work to ensure a smooth transfer of the cargo business through continuous meetings with the staff being transferred from Air Incheon."
Asiana Airlines' cargo division began operating its first freighter on the Seoul-LA route in November 1994 and currently operates a total of 12 freighters. Last year's cargo business revenue reached 1.7195 trillion won, a 7% increase year-on-year, with an annual cargo transport volume of 831,278 tons.