Korean Air acquired 44% of ownership interest in Czech Airlines, a flag carrier of Czech Republic, and became the second largest shareholder of Czech Airlines. This outbound M&A represented the first time that a Korean company acquired shares in a European airline and strengthened Korean Air’s access to European routes through the Prague Airport. Representing Korean Air, Lee & Ko successfully completed the above transaction on May, 2014.
Following the share acquisition, Lee & Ko represented Czech Airlines for obtaining government approval for the Prague-Incheon route. The approval was granted on Jun. 1, 2013, thereby completing Korean Air’s strategic objective in acquiring the stake in Czech Airlines.