Capital A reignites plans to list brand management arm

Capital A is reportedly revisiting its plans to list its brand management arm, Abc International in the US. According to a report by The Edge Malaysia, the valuation of the listing has purportedly doubled from the initial US$ 1.15 billion (RM5.09 billion). Abc International was previously known as Capital A International, which houses AirAsia brand co.

Capital A is also the parent company of low-cost airlines AirAsia, AirAsia X, and Teleport. Just last week, the group announced that it had secured Bursa Securities’ approval for its Practice Note 17 (PN17) regularisation plan. Its chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said the approval marked a monumental day for Capital A, which had undergone an extensive restructuring process.

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As part of the announcement, Capital A said that following the completion of the proposed regularisation plan, the company will be in a stronger position and remains committed to growing its six core businesses. Namely Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), Teleport (Logistics), AirAsia MOVE, Santan, BigPay and Abc. International. 

The listing of Abc International with a target timeline of 2025 was confirmed by Fernandes, in The Edge Malaysia’s report.  He said that it definitely needs to list Abc in America as that is the only market that will understand it. Fernandes added that he just received the latest valuation of the brand, and it has doubled from the initial US$1 billion.  

The proposal to list the brand management arm was first initiated in February 2024, and the plan was to inject the company into Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aetherium Acquisition Corp. Following that, Capital A was to get an equity stake worth US$1 billion in the US-listed entity. However, Capital A had terminated its agreement with Aetherium in October 2024 after the SPAC had failed to comply with certain Nasdaq listing rules. 

According to Capital A International’s (CAPI) website, the brand management arm specialises in brand development, management and licensing. CAPI, through AirAsia brand co., is the owner and licensor of the world-renowned AirAsia brand and other Asean brands. In its vision statement, the company plans to empower and lift Asean brands globally to become a part of international culture. It also aims to introduce and connect the world to Asean’s people, places and passion via brand building to deliver new experiences.

The chief executive officer of AirAsia brand co. is Rudy Khaw, and the arm also appointed Regan Mathews as its new creative director last October to oversee all aspects of the AirAsia brand's creative strategy. 

Separately, Tony Fernandes also revealed that Capital A is selling off a majority stake in its financial technology arm Big Pay to an undisclosed regional bank. In a different report by The Edge, Big Pay is the only loss-entity among Capital A's non-aviation businesses, and the decision to sell will address the group's capital needs. He said that it aims to keep a 30% stake. 

In January, Fintech News reported that Big Pay was undergoing a mass exodus as several top executives have reportedly tendered their resignations. Among them reportedly included its chief executive officer Zubin Rada Krishnan, chief operating officer Mitherpal Sidhu, and chief growth and commercial officer Chris Manguera. According to checks by A+M, Zubin has not announced his resignation on LinkedIn, but added two new roles as advisor to Global AI Village and The Hive Global AI Fund from February 2025. 

Back in 2022, Big Pay applied for the digital banking licence from Malaysia's central bank, but failed in its bid. The e-wallet operator had secured US$100 million in financing from South Korean conglomerate SK Group in 2021, and had applied for the licence with a consortium of strategic partners. 

Photo courtesy of Capital A International's website

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