NOK, in the Hand of “Churangkul”
Has THAI given up on NOK, which is now belong to Churangkul's Group?
It has been a year or two that the top two major shareholders of Nok Airlines Public Company Limited (NOK) had been competing for the first spot. But the decision to waive its right on 198,156,288 ordinary shares that NOK had offered for capital increase had shown that Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) would likely give the first place to Churangkul Group.
The reason that THAI waived its right on this capital increase should not be about financial problem as the total amount would be only THB 544 million, while THAI holds as much as THB 13,000 million of cash as of now.
Following the waiver decision is the question on why THAI skipped out on this capital increase, and who took the portion left by THAI?
There are two possible reasons for THAI to not participate in this capital increase.
First, lacks of confidence in NOK’s business recovery plan that could lead to a new risk, even though it is only THB 544 million. Second, without being said, the portion that was left had been taken by NOK’s major shareholder, Churangkul Group. When checking the major shareholders, it is clear that Churangkul Group had taken over, while THAI is left with 15.94% stake in NOK.
After becoming the major shareholder of NOK, will Churangkul Group just keep holding the share? Maybe this is a plan to gather NOK’s shares for sale as the synergy between Churangkul Group and NOK can barely be seen.
Which gives more weight on the possibility of acquiring shares for sale and also in line with the rumors not long ago that a lot of international airlines were aiming for Nok Air, especially Singapore Airlines.
Does THAI not regret this decision at all?