China’s HNA Group Buys 48% Stake in French Airline Aigle Azur

HNA Group Co., parent of China’s Hainan Airlines Co., has acquired a 48 percent stake in France’s Aigle Azur Transports Aeriens SAS, according to an e-mailed statement today.

The purchase makes HNA Group Aigle Azur’s second-biggest shareholder and gives the Chinese company the right to appoint two of the five-member executive committee that governs the French airline, according to the statement, which didn’t give a price paid for the stake. HNA Group also gains the right to appoint a vice president and a deputy chief financial officer.