Thai AirAsia parent company Asia Aviation (AAV) has confirmed that it is considering taking a stake in loss-making carrier Nok Air.
The company confirmed its interest in a Stock Exchange of Thailand disclosure, following Thai media reports indicated that it had come to an agreement to acquire a stake in Nok from that carrier's majority shareholders, the Jurangkool family.
In its statement, AAV's chief financial officer Santhat Sanguandikul states that while the company is "currently considering whether such investment is appropriate," it has not made "any written agreements nor [taken] any actions that are binding on the company with respect to the acquisition of Nok Air shares".
Nok issued a separate statement in which it said that it is "not aware of any details in this respect."
Prior to its recent capital raising that closed earlier in February, members of the Jurangkool family collectively owned a 55% stake in the struggling low-cost operator. Thai Airways International is the second largest shareholder with a 21.8% stake.
Following news of the potential acquisition, Nok's shares saw a 21% jump in price to Bt2.76 on 22 February, with 11.5 million shares changing hands. The volume traded on that day also surpassed the previous record of 1.87 million shares traded on 17 January.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
