[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] Sono International, the holding company of Daemyung Sono Group, has announced an increase in its investment in low-cost airline Air Premia from 47 billion KRW to 58 billion KRW, allowing it to acquire an 11.6% stake in the company.

On the 28th, Sonno International disclosed that it would raise its investment in JC Aviation No. 1 LLC from 47.176 billion KRW to 58.097 billion KRW, citing the need for "board re-approval of contract changes."

JC Partners, the second-largest shareholder in Air Premia, holds a total of 22% of the company through various vehicles. Specifically, JC Aviation No. 1, a special purpose company (SPC), holds 16.9%, while friendly shareholders of JC Partners hold 3.1%, and a growth support private equity fund (PEF) holds 2%.

It has been reported that JC Partners is in the process of consolidating Air Premia's shares held by friendly shareholders and the growth support PEF into the SPC, as the SPC is the entity that has signed the shareholder agreement with the largest shareholder, AP Holdings.

With the contract condition change, the shares of Air Premia that JC Partners will acquire consist of 8.5% from the SPC's 16.9% holdings and 3.1% from the shares previously held by friendly shareholders that will be transferred to the SPC. This amounts to half of the SPC's shares, equating to 11.6% of Air Premia's total equity. Consequently, this means Sono Group is acquiring an 11.6% stake in Air Premia for approximately 58.1 billion KRW.

This calculation implies that Air Premia's overall enterprise value is around 500 billion KRW, although the company's valuation is effectively fixed at about 470 billion KRW due to the premium associated with the friendly shareholders' stakes.

 

 

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