O’Melveny Counsels Asiana Airlines Through Global Regulatory Clearances to Complete its Transaction with Korean Air
December 12, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC—December 12, 2024—O’Melveny helped clear the way for Korean Air to acquire a 63.9% stake in Asiana Airlines four years after announcing its intent, positioning the combined airline among the world’s top 10 carriers.
The transaction received clearance from competition authorities across 13 countries. A cross-border team of O’Melveny antitrust lawyers advised Asiana Airlines on global competition issues and helped craft remedies, as needed, to secure clearance in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, China, and Japan.
Korean Air plans to complete the integration of Asiana Airlines within two years. Upon integration of the two airlines, the combined carrier will optimize its two networks, offering more choice and convenience for customers, and expand to new destinations.
“We have been privileged to serve Asiana Airlines since 2006, and we are truly grateful for the trust they put in us to help them craft a global strategy to combine with Korean Air,” said O’Melveny Washington, DC partner and Antitrust & Competition Practice co-chair Ian Simmons, who co-led the O’Melveny team.
O’Melveny partner Riccardo Celli, who serves as managing partner of the firm’s Brussels office, added: “It has been a privilege to work hand-in-hand with our long-standing client Asiana in securing the European Commission’s first approval of an airline merger in over ten years, after a wave of airline cases were abandoned due to looming prohibitions from the Commission. This case demonstrated our team’s ability to think ‘outside of the box,’ as the novel type of remedy package negotiated by the parties—and now implemented—will be the European Commission’s blueprint when negotiating remedies in future airlines cases.”
O’Melveny’s dedicated team of antitrust and aviation lawyers has been a trusted advisor to the airline industry for decades—and this is the second airline merger that O’Melveny has led in 2024, coming on the heels of the successful completion of Alaska Airlines’ acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines in September. O’Melveny partner Courtney Dyer, who serves as managing partner of the firm’s Washington, DC office, said: “O’Melveny’s resources and know-how to help airlines obtain antitrust clearances were on full display this year.”
In addition to Simmons, Celli, and Dyer, the O’Melveny team included partners Stephen McIntyre, Mia Gonzalez, Julia Schiller, Philip Monaghan, and Yoji Maeda; counsel Philippe Nogues, Courtney Byrd, Alexandra Wolter, Brian Quinn, and Lining Shan; associates Jack Derewicz, Rebecca Evans, Arjun Shenoy, Emily Murphy, and Vivian Wang; and staff attorney Min Choi.
About O’Melveny
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Contact:
Brandon Jacobsen
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 213 430 8024
bjacobsen@omm.com
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For additional details, please find the Korean Air announcement here.