KUALA LUMPUR (July 31): Capital A Bhd (KL:CAPITALA) and its sister company AirAsia X Bhd (KL:AAX) have extended the cut-off date for their aviation business restructuring deal by another month from July 31 to Aug 31, 2025.
The cut-off date may also be further extended to a later date, subject to mutual written agreement by both parties, Capital A and AirAsia X said in separate filings on Thursday.
The two companies said that the extension will allow more time to obtain the necessary approvals and consents from relevant authorities, financiers, lenders and other third parties, as well as to finalise the terms of AirAsia X’s proposed RM1 billion private placement with investors.
Earlier this month, Capital A chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the group’s regularisation plan “almost done”, with the only major item pending being approval from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) for the disposal of its Thai aviation assets.
And last week, Fernandes said in a Linkedin post that the approvel from the SET is to avoid a chain listing, adding that there are "six CPs (conditions precedent) to be signed" by end-August.
The latest extension marks the fourth time the low-cost airline companies have postponed the cut-off date for the restructuring. The original deadline of Jan 25 was first extended to March 25, followed by a two-month extension to May 31. It was then pushed to July 31, and now further extended by another month to Aug 31.
AirAsia X had announced plans to buy AirAsia Aviation Group for RM3 billion and AirAsia Bhd for RM3.8 billion on April 25, 2024. The deal included a plan by AirAsia X to raise RM1 billion via a private placement to fund the merged airline operations.
The corporate exercise is intended to help Capital A exit its Practice Note 17 (PN17) status, which it fell into in 2022, by recording gain on disposal that will reverse its negative equity position.
Capital A’s share price settled up half a sen or 0.62% at 81.5 sen on Thursday, valuing the group at RM3.54 billion. AirAsia X’s share price, meanwhile, closed one sen or 0.67% higher at RM1.51 on Thursday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM675.08 million.