BOTH houses of Congress have approved AirAsia Inc.’s (AirAsia Philippines) acquisition of budget airline operator Zest Airways Inc. (AirAsia Zest).
The local unit of Malaysian carrier AirAsia Bhd. has received the go signal from lawmakers to buy the entire shares held by Ambassador Alfredo M. Yao in Zest Airways Inc., AirAsia Zest CEO Joy D. Cañeba told select reporters over lunch on Thursday.
“The House of Representatives and the Senate approved last December AirAsia Philippines’s acquisition of the entire shareholding of Ambassador Yao in Zest Airways,” she said.
AirAsia Philippines is acquiring the remaining 51-percent shareholding in Zest Airways held by the former ambassador, a deal that would allow it to own the entire homegrown carrier.
“It will be financed through a mix of share swap and cash,” Cañeba said.
The transaction, she added, would pave the way for Yao to own 15 percent of AirAsia Philippines.
Cañeba, who is also a lawyer, said the deal needed the approval of Congress as Zest Airways has a congressional franchise.
“Soon, AirAsia Zest and AirAsia Philippines will be merged into one. We intend to have just one brand that will be named simply as AirAsia,” she said.
The whole transaction is expected to be completed by the first quarter.
Yao, in a separate phone interview, confirmed Cañeba’s claims, saying that he is excited with the prospect of banking on the brand of one of Southeast Asia’s largest air carriers.
“They have an intention of merging the two airlines. There will be a substantial change in ownership, so we need first the approval of Congress. Now we have to sit down again and negotiate,” he told the BusinessMirror.
Yao, who is the man behind the juice brand Zest-O, said he is amenable to the decision of AirAsia Philippines to rebrand the airline.
“Imagine being associated with one of the best airlines in the world, so it is fine by me,” he said.
The AirAsia Group recently joined the roster of the top 20 airlines in the world, after it flew more than 50 million passengers in 2014. The report was released by aviation think tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation early this month.
In 2013 Zest Air was rebranded to AirAsia Zest to reflect its alliance with the largest budget carrier in Southeast Asia.