AirAsia chief says brand unit is nearing Nasdaq backdoor listing

[KUALA LUMPUR] AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes said that the Asian airline’s branding unit is closing in on a Nasdaq-listed target for a backdoor listing later this year that would value the newly created entity at about US$1.5 billion.

The deal, which will involve the merger of the branding unit with the US-listed company, will probably be announced within the next two months, Fernandes said on Friday (Feb 13) in Kuala Lumpur. The merged entity will probably debut in the third quarter, he said.

The deal would mark the revival of a plan Fernandes talked about two years ago but never materialised because of challenges complying with Nasdaq listing rules. A successful listing for Next would be the businessman’s first outside of Malaysia, and after he merged his airline businesses under one entity.

Fernandes, who has said he aims to list all of his non-aviation businesses under holding company Capital A over the coming years, said that AirAsia has built such a strong brand that other airlines, particularly in the Asean region, will be willing to pay his company to tap its expertise and name value.

“We can have AirAsia anything,” he said. BLOOMBERG