Hongkong Corporate Jet Management Ltd says it has made a formal offer to purchase Asia Jet Partners Ltd and a Letter of Intent (LOI) has been signed between the parties. In the proposed agreement, Hongkong Jet (Hong Kong International) would acquire Asia Jet (Hong Kong International) together with its Shanghai-based subsidiary, Asia Jet Partners (Shanghai) ltd, and its joint venture business unit, Asia Jet Partners (Malaysia) Bhd. The Malaysian JV partner is Berjaya Vacation Club Berhad, itself a subsidiary of publically-traded Berjaya Corporation Berhad.
“Linking hands with Hong Kong Jet and its expansive aviation parent group became an obvious strategic fit for us within Asia," Mike Walsh, CEO of Asia Jet, said. "I am excited about our future prospects together and the benefits a larger group can bring to our loyal clients."
The acquisition will strengthen the position of both companies, expanding their collective service offering while lowering costs through greater economies of scale. Together, the merged firm will also be able to offer prospective client the chance to charter aircraft registered in any of the United States, Bermuda or Hong Kong.
Asia Jet was founded in 2008 and currently operates various corporate jets including Cessna (single turboprop) 208B Grand Caravans, Finmeccanica Helicopters AW139s, Gulfstream G150s, Gulfstream G200s, Gulfstream G280s, Gulfstream IVs, GVI-G650ERs, Hawker 850XP/900s, Cessna 680s, Falcon 900s, Embraer Legacies, and A319CJs. For its part, Hong Kong Jet was founded in 2009 and is a unit of China's HNA Group operating A318CJs, A319CJs, and a VIP-configured A330-200. It holds AOCs in Hong Kong and Bermuda.
With the due diligence process complete and with no further changes anticipated, the firms expect the transaction to close by the end of the current quarter. Once completed, the two firms will be rebranded under a single brand but will continue to operate as two separate entities.
