Malaysia’s Capital A aims to raise US$400mil equity from AirAsia merger [NSTTV]

KUALA LUMPUR: The parent company of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia, Capital A Berhad, is looking to raise up to US$400 million in equity as part of a planned merger to bring its long and short-haul operations under one brand, its CEO said on Monday.

Group Chief Executive Tony Fernandes in an interview said that would be on top of a US$200 million bond-raising the company is hoping to conduct in the next few weeks, as it awaits regulator and shareholder approval to complete the sale of its aviation business to long-haul unit AirAsia X Bhd.

The proposed deal, announced last month, would see the formation of a single airline AirAsia Group, he said.

“(We hope) the acquisition by AirAsia X of Capital A aviation assets will be done by June and July,” Fernandes told Reuters.

Fernandes did not provide details on what the financing would be used for.

Both Capital A and AirAsia X have undergone restructuring after being classified by Malaysia’s stock exchange as

financially distressed, due to…