Uni-top Airlines (Kunming Changshui) has completed its purchase of a 51% stake in GrandStar Cargo International Airlines (Tianjin) from Sinotrans Air Transportation Development Co (Sinotrans Air) for the nominal price of CNY1 (USD0.16). Grandstar's other shareholders included Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) with 25%, Hana Capital with 13%, and Shinhan Capital with 11%. Korean Air disposed of its stake in the carrier to Uni-Top for CNY1 in June last year.
Over the period June 2008 to early 2012, Grandstar operated cargo flights between Tianjin, Frankfurt International, Shanghai Pudong, and Seoul Incheon. The carrier's demise was attributed to a depressed air cargo market, high oil prices, and the Chinese government's subsidization of domestic airlines.
Though it has acquired GrandStar's significant debt burden, which in 2012 stood at USD97.2million (CNY600million), Uni-Top plans to use Grand Star's traffic rights to expand its own profitable business to include additional destinations in Europe and the United States. As part of the transaction, Uni-Top also acquired GrandStar's B747-400(F), B-2427 (msn 26401), currently in storage at Beijing Capital.
