Fernandes: AirAsia’s Nasdaq listing to fuel PH expansion

The parent company of AirAsia Philippines will soon land on Wall Street via a $1-billion merger with a Nasdaq-listed company, a deal expected to support the budget carrier’s expansion.

Capital A Berhad, in a statement on Friday, announced it had inked a letter of intent with Aetherium Acquisition Corp. for a proposed business combination merger that would allow it to go public.

Aetherium Acquisition is a special-purpose acquisition company, or a publicly traded company established for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing entity.

The transaction, once final and completed, will create Capital A International, a new investment company carrying the AirAsia brand. Included in the deal are other units, including logistics venture Teleport and super app AirAsia Move.

The new entity will engage in the acquisition and incubation of startups, in addition to generation of revenues from AirAsia’s existing portfolio.

Going public was expected to beef up the coffers of AirAsia, Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes told the Inquirer, adding this would help fund Philippine expansion plans.

Next year, AirAsia Philippines is eyeing to double its fleet size from the current 15 aircraft servicing 14 domestic and 13 international destinations.

“We are confident that the exposure to the US financial markets and Nasdaq listing would help us accelerate the delivery of our strategy as we improve access to capital, broaden our shareholder base and meaningfully raise our profile globally,” Fernandes said in a statement.

“This new entity (Capital A International) will present investors with the opportunity to tap into the growth of the Asean region with a high-quality, profitable asset and exceptional management team,” Aetherium Acquisition CEO Jonathan Chan added.

Capital A said it would disclose more details after signing a definitive agreement for the proposed deal. The parties are currently securing regulatory requirements to proceed with the transaction.

“We look forward to finalizing the business combination agreement in the weeks to come,” Chan said.

The aviation sector is in the midst of recovery with the return of air travel demand.

In the third quarter, AirAsia Philippines served 1.64 million guests, up 35 percent.

—Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ