HNA affiliate invests $139M in South Korea's Kumho Asiana Group

The Hainan Airlines Group of China—part of the HNA Group conglomerate—is investing big in the Kumho Asiana Group, a large South Korean company with interests in the travel and hospitality sectors. Last week, the Chinese company announced that it would acquire bonds with a warrant issued by Kumho Holdings, the holding company of Kumho Asiana Group, to secure operating funds for $139.49 million.

Late last year, Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo met with HNA Group CEO Adam Tan in Seoul to discuss areas for cooperation

These plans include the development of hotels and resorts as well as aircraft-related projects. The two companies to continuously expand partnership in various sectors, including the development of hotels and resorts, in the future with the latest investment to create a synergy.

HNA Group is the largest shareholder of Hainan Airlines, China’s fourth-largest airline. In October, the company acquired a 25-percent stake in Hilton Worldwide, which was valued at approximately $6.5 billion at the time. That was one of a recent spate of hospitality-focused moves, which also includes the acquisition of Carlson Hospitality Group and minority stakes in both Red Lion Hotels Corp. and NH Hotels.

Last year, South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines reportedly sold a 50-percent stake in Kumho Asiana Plaza, a serviced apartment and hotel complex, to Saigon Boulevard Holdings (a subsidiary of Singaporean developer Mapletree Investments) for $107.5 million.