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 (AFK). Through this transaction, CEA
and SkyTeam alliance member Delta Air Lines (Delta) have each
acquired a 10 percent stake in AFK’s share capital within the
framework of reserved capital increases. 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, and which is also China's biggest business
market. It will also help strengthen AFK’s control over
trans-Atlantic flights.
The DLA Piper team was led by Corporate partners Qiang Li and
Stewart Wang in Shanghai, and Corporate partner Jeremy Scemama in
Paris. Other team members include Corporate senior associate
Joyce Du and associate Lily Li in Shanghai, Corporate senior
associate Arnaud Lafarge and associate Radu Valeanu in Paris,
Finance and Projects partner Paul Lee and associate Fion Law in
Hong Kong, Antitrust and Competition partner Nathan Bush in
Singapore, Corporate senior associate Nicolas Marchand, associate
Rachida Benhalima and Mateusz Glowacki in Luxembourg, Corporate
partners Casper Hamersma and advocaat Laura Smit in Amsterdam,
and partner Alexandra Kamerling in the Brussels office.
