Jeju Air gives up on Eastar Jet amid pandemic

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Thursday it will scrap a deal to acquire Eastar Jet Co. amid the fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic. Yonhap

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Thursday it will scrap a deal to acquire Eastar Jet Co. amid the fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic.

In a regulatory filing, Jeju Air said that Eastar failed to meet demands required to seal the deal.

In March, Jeju Air signed a deal to acquire a controlling 51.17 percent stake in Eastar Jet from Eastar Holdings for 54.5 billion won ($45.53 million) as part of its expansion strategy despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the deal had been on the verge of breaking down, as Jeju Air and Easter have been making little progress in talks over debt payments amid the losses incurred by the virus outbreak. (Yonhap)