HNA Group Co. extended its 1.4b-franc ($1.4b) offer for Switzerland’s Gategroup Holding and said it would scrap a previously set minimum acceptance level for the world’s second-biggest airline caterer. Gategroup shareholders can tender their stock until July 21 after counting at the end of the initial acceptance period showed HNA garnered 63.6% of the Swiss company, the Chinese conglomerate said Thursday. In April, HNA said the deal for the European company required a 67% buy-in. “HNA is pleased about this interim result and remains confident that more shareholders of Gategroup will recognize the benefits of accepting the offer and therefore tender their shares into the offer during the additional acceptance period,” the company said Thursday. Under the agreement, the airlines-to-supermarkets group controlled by Chinese billionaire Chen Feng had the option to walk away from the deal or drop the condition for minimum acceptance and extend the offer period through July 21. Hainan-based HNA said Thursday it expects the settlement to occur toward the end of Q3 or the beginning of Q4 this year. HNA’s purchase of Gategroup amid a boom in Asian air travel will add to the clutch of aviation assets that the acquisitive Chinese group has bought around the world. <br/>
unaligned
Oman Air, the sultanate’s state-owned carrier, is carving out its own position in the Indian market as it looks to take on its larger Gulf rivals. The Muscat-based airline said last month it wants an extra 8,000 weekly seats on flights to India within two years, increasing its current share by around 40% to 29,820. That would give it more than Qatar’s 24,800 weekly seats but less than Dubai’s 65,000 seats and Abu Dhabi’s 49,670 seats, according to Indian newswire PTI. Oman Air, who is targeting to at least break even in 2017, is counting on increasing demand for international travel from one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. The move is likely to challenge Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, who are some of the largest foreign carriers flying in and out of India. “Demand is certainly there for Oman Air to expand. There are opportunities to grow transfer traffic as well as origin-destination traffic,” said Binit Somaia, Director South Asia at CAPA.<br/>