Korean Air Completes Acquisition of Asiana Airlines

On December 12, 2024, Korean Air completed its acquisition of Asiana Airlines, four years after the acquisition was first announced. The combined airline becomes one of the world’s largest carriers and solidifies Incheon’s position as a major hub for international airline transportation in Asia. The transaction required clearances from competition authorities in 13 countries worldwide.

Compass Lexecon teams provided compliance and economic support for the transaction. Dennis W. Carlton, John Hore, and Bryan Keating submitted advocacy reports to the Korea Fair Trade Commission in Korea, the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom, the European Commission, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation in China (co-authored with Elizabeth Wang), and to the Departments of Justice and Transportation in the United States. Compass Lexecon teams led by John Hore and Josephine Xu also assisted counsel for Korean Air and Asiana Airlines with second request compliance in the United States. Other Compass Lexecon professionals that supported the transaction include Eric Amel, Shoola Dzhumaeva, Chris He, Showroop Pokhrel, Crystal Huang, and Jerry Wang.

Compass Lexecon worked closely with David Gefland, Brian Byrne, Daniel Culley, and Alan Freedman of Cleary Gottlieb, Ian Simmons, Courtney Dyer, Jack Derewicz, and Alexandra Wolter of O’Melveny, and Andreas Politis, Paolo Morante, and Daniel Colgan of DLA Piper.