Korean Air Receives Merger Approval in Australia... "Expecting Rapid Progress in Other Corporate Merger Reviews" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Korean Air has received approval from Australian competition authorities for its merger with Asiana Airlines. The Australian competition authorities judged that the possibility of Korean Air raising prices or lowering service levels on the Seoul-Sydney route after acquiring Asiana Airlines is low.

On the 1st, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced, "The ACCC will not oppose Korean Air's proposed acquisition."

The ACCC explained, "This merger will combine the only two airlines currently operating direct flights between Sydney and Seoul," adding, "However, Qantas and Jetstar (Australian airlines) will soon begin operating on this route."

Qantas and Jetstar are selling tickets for the Incheon-Sydney route, which will start operating from November to December this year. Qantas plans to operate both passenger and cargo flights on this route.

Gina Cass-Gottlieb, Chair of the ACCC, said, "This acquisition will combine the only two providers of direct flights between Sydney and Seoul," but also stated, "The fact that the Qantas Group will provide flights on the Sydney-Incheon route means that effective competition can exist regardless of whether the acquisition proceeds."

Additionally, the ACCC explained, "With Qantas and low-cost carriers (LCCs) providing flights, there is a high likelihood of effective competition regardless of Korean Air's acquisition."

In particular, Australia, like mandatory notification countries such as the United States and the EU, has reviewed corporate mergers in a similar manner by requiring the entry of new airlines to maintain the same competitive environment as before the merger. Therefore, Korean Air expects that the approval from the Australian competition authorities will accelerate the approval process of other competition authorities that have not yet approved the merger.

Since filing merger notifications with competition authorities in nine mandatory notification countries on January 14 last year, Korean Air has received merger approvals from the competition authorities of South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Additionally, Thailand has notified that it is not subject to prior merger review. Among voluntary notification countries, Korean Air has received approval decisions from Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia. The Philippines is not subject to notification, so the procedure has been concluded.

Korean Air plans to actively cooperate with the remaining mandatory notification countries?the United States, the European Union (EU), China, Japan?and the voluntary notification country, the United Kingdom, to complete the procedures as soon as possible.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.