Malaysia’s AirAsia eyes air cargo carrier – media

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s flagship budget airline AirAsia Group Bhd is in early acquisition discussions for air cargo carrier Raya Airways to beef up its logistics business, The Edge Weekly reported on Saturday citing sources.

The business weekly said the airline has approached businessman Ishak Ismail whose family owns Raya Airways, to acquire the carrier, and are in early conversations, according to people familiar with the matter.

AirAsia and Raya Airways did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

AirAsia’s logistics unit Teleport said in November it was aiming to expand its fleet of cargo planes and scale up its freight business.

Top executives at Raya Airways were not keen to sell the carrier, however, as they have plans for an initial public offering, the report said.

AirAsia was last week classified as a PN17 firm by Malaysia’s stock exchange, a tag given to financially distressed firms. It said it was working on a plan to “regularise its financial condition”.

(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)