Creditors to inject $2 bln into Asiana Airlines after sale collapses

State-run lead creditor Korea Development Bank said creditors will relaunch Asiana's sale as soon as conditions permit. Hyundai Development plans to respond after legal review, it said in a regulatory filing, adding that the deal fell apart due to Asiana's failure to meet preconditions.

Creditors plan to inject $2 billion into debt-ridden Asiana Airlines after a planned sale of South Korea's second-largest carrier collapsed, a state bank said on Friday. Kumho Industrial pulled the 2.5 trillion won ($2.11 billion) sale of the South Korean to Hyundai Development Co and brokerage Mirae Asset Daewoo.

They had agreed to buy control of Asiana in December, but called for better terms after the airline's debt surged in subsequent months after the coronavirus pandemic tore through markets and wiped out demand for travel. Asiana CEO Han Chang-soo said it was necessary to preserve Asiana Airlines as a going concern. State-run lead creditor Korea Development Bank said creditors will relaunch Asiana's sale as soon as conditions permit.

Hyundai Development plans to respond after legal review, it said in a regulatory filing, adding that the deal fell apart due to Asiana's failure to meet preconditions. Mirae Asset said it will respond according to future progress as a financial investor.

Asiana, which competes with bigger Korean Air Lines , had a total debt of 12.8 trillion won as of end-June, up more than 33% from a year earlier, according to its regulatory filing. ($1 = 1,186.4800 won)