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Proposed Malaysia Airlines-AirAsia X merger facing opposition
Malaysia Airlines’ owner Khazanah Nasional reportedly wants to merge the ailing national carrier with long haul budget carrier AirAsia X but is facing opposition from its own stakeholders.
The Malaysian Reserve reports there is resistance from fund stakeholders calling it a bad deal which is effectively a state funded bail out.
State-owned sovereign wealth fund Khazanah is sole shareholder of Malaysia Airlines and is looking to offload the airline.
There has been little improvement in its fortunes since a $US1 billion restructuring following two deadly air accidents in 2014.
For a merger to proceed, the government would have to inject more money to cover operations and then bankroll all debt repayments.
"Basically, AAX shareholders would get a ‘cleaner’ MAB. Why sell when the government has to clean it up prior to the sale? In fact, there is no single benefit for MAB to merge with AAX," a source familiar with the matter said.
"AirAsia X is not even profitable. The ‘merger’ would only benefit AAX’s shareholders and not MAB or the Malaysian public."
A Comprehensive Collaboration Framework and share swap deal between Malaysia Airlines and the main AirAsia business was previously on the table but was scrapped due to a public outcry over monopoly concerns.
That deal also ensnared AirAsia co-founder and executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun who settled a fine with Securities Commission Malaysia for alleged insider trading.
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