Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld has bought back 36.3% of shares in Asia Aviation, a 55% shareholder of Thai AirAsia, at THB4.70 (USD0.14)/share, covering the purchase of around 1.761 billion shares from King Power Group chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his family. The size of the transaction was around THB8.279 billion (USD252.3 million). Mr Srivaddhanaprabha and his family bought their stake in 2016 in a THB7.9 billion (at the time around USD225 million) transaction.
Mr Tassapon, who previously held a 5% stake in AAV and has increased his stake after the transaction to 41.3%, said that he bought back the shares from the Srivaddhanaprabha family because of his love for the airline, which he has managed since its inception. He said the acquisition will allow him to better realise the airline’s vision and direction. “I assure all that the management team who has been running the airline from the very first day will continue to play a critical role in driving Thai AirAsia forward, along with the staff that have always been so dedicated in helping the airline becoming Thailand’s number one airline, which is reflected in our leading market share”, he said.
He added: “Thai AirAsia will continue to invest in 2018 as planned, which will include amongst other things, the acquisition of seven aircraft. We estimate the number of passengers in 2018 to be around 22 million and we can achieve this by penetrating new markets in ASEAN, India and the People’s Republic of China”. In line with local stock exchange regulations, Mr Tassapon will submit a Mandatory Tender Offer on 08-Jan-2018 to purchase the remaining shares in the market (approximately 58.7%) at THB4.70/share.