Asiana Airlines fails to conclude cargo biz sell-off; another board meeting eyed

Asiana Airlines, Korea's second-largest air carrier, failed to conclude on Monday whether to sell its cargo business, as Korean Air seeks to win antitrust approval from European Union regulators for the takeover of its smaller rival. The EU antitrust regulators have raised concerns that Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana may restrict competition in the markets for passenger and cargo air transport services between the EU and Korea. The board of the airline held an hourslong meeting earlier in the day to deliberate the plan to sell off the cargo business. A follow-up board meeting is expected to be convened Tuesday. An approval would grant Korean Air, the larger of the two full-service carriers, a closer step in winning a nod from the European Commission (EC), the EU's executive body, for the merger deal. A rejection, on the contrary, could potentially dampen the prospects of the deal, which has been pursued for the past three years. Ahead of the meeting, Jin Kwang-ho, head of Asiana's safety and security division and one of Asiana's two internal board members, offered to resign, citing personal reasons, according to the company. Jin was widely known to have been against the cargo business sale. His sudden departure portended a heated debate even before the meeting. The board's remaining five members ― one internal and four outside ― reportedly debated whether the cargo business sale approval could potentially constitute breach of trust and whether it would serve in the interest of Asiana's shareholders. Korean Air, the larger of Korea's two full-service airlines, also convened its own board meeting Monday to discuss remedial measures to address concerns raised by the EC, the EU's executive body.<br/>