DLA Piper Advises CEA on Investment in Air France-KLM

DLA Piper has advised China Eastern Airlines (CEA), one of the largest Chinese airlines operating domestic, regional and international routes, on its strategic investment in Euronext Paris listed Air France-KLM. CEA and another SkyTeam alliance member Delta Air Lines each acquired a 10 percent stake in AFK’s share capital within the framework of reserved capital increases totalling €751 million at a subscription price of €10 per share. The transaction closed on 3 October 2017.

The new partnership will help AFK secure more access to the booming Chinese air travel market, especially to Shanghai, where CEA is headquartered, also China’s biggest business market. It will also help strengthen AFK’s’ control over trans-Atlantic flights.

DLA Piper’s Corporate and Regulatory practices advised CEA across multiple jurisdictions with a team led by Li Qiang and Stewart Wang (Shanghai), Jeremy Scemama (Paris), Casper Hamersma and Laura Smit (Amsterdam) and Alexandra Kamerling (Brussels). Other team members included Joyce Du and Lily Li (Shanghai), Arnaud Lafarge and Radu Valeanu (Paris), Paul Lee and Fion Law in (Hong Kong), Nathan Bush (Singapore) and Nicolas Marchand, Rachida Benhalima and Mateusz Glowacki (Luxembourg).

(Source: DLA Piper)