Korean Air CEO expects US to approve Asiana merger by October

Korean Air Chairman and CEO Walter Cho said Sunday that he expects US approval of the planned merger with Asiana Airlines to come by the end of October. “We expect full approval by the end of October this year,” Cho said in an interview with Bloomberg in Dubai, Sunday. He stressed “no further concessions,” saying “We have done everything the US and EU have requested us to do.” His comments come as the US is the last of 14 jurisdictions in which Korean Air needs to secure approval for the merger with its smaller rival. This year, Korean Air received approvals from competition authorities in the EU and Japan in February and January, respectively, leaving the US the only country yet to respond to Korean Air’s three years of efforts to obtain regulatory approval overseas. Korean Air Chairman and CEO Walter Cho said Sunday that he expects US approval of the planned merger with Asiana Airlines to come by the end of October. “We expect full approval by the end of October this year,” Cho said in an interview with Bloomberg in Dubai, Sunday. He stressed “no further concessions,” saying “We have done everything the US and EU have requested us to do.” His comments come as the US is the last of 14 jurisdictions in which Korean Air needs to secure approval for the merger with its smaller rival. This year, Korean Air received approvals from competition authorities in the EU and Japan in February and January, respectively, leaving the US the only country yet to respond to Korean Air’s three years of efforts to obtain regulatory approval overseas.<br/>