China Eastern spreads its wings, buying into French airline
China Eastern Air will invest about 375 million euros to acquire a 10 percent stake in Air France-KLM Group in a move expected to speed up the group's overseas expansion.
The share purchase, announced on Friday, is the largest investment the Shanghai-based carrier has made.
A wholly-owned overseas arm of China Eastern Air signed the agreement with the Paris-based airlines.
Another agreement for market cooperation was signed between the group's listed arm China Eastern Airlines and Air France-KLM.
At the same time, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines which owns 3.55 percent of China Eastern, signed an agreement to also buy a 10 percent stake in Air France-KLM. Both China Eastern and Delta will send a board member to Air France-KLM after the deal.
The three major carriers in Asia, America and Europe said they are looking to build closer commercial ties and jointly explore the global aviation market.
