Malaysia's Capital A will combine its AirAsia budget airline business with long-haul offshoot AirAsia X as part of a corporate restructuring designed to shed its status as a financially-distressed firm, CEO Tony Fernandes said.
AirAsia X is also classified as PN17, but in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Fernandes said under the restructuring plan, both listed companies would emerge from that status by July 2023. Capital A investors will receive an in-specie distribution in the former AirAsia X, giving them exposure to a pure airline business with multiple brands.
Capital A, in turn, could look to list its aviation services business, including maintenance and catering, in Singapore where rivals like Singapore Technologies Engineering and SATS could serve as comparable companies, he added.