SEOUL - South Korean property developer SJ Co Ltd has acquired budget airline Eastar Jet for 110 billion won ($97 million), Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.

SJ paid a deposit of 11 billion won and plans to issue new shares to complete the transaction, the report said.

Eastar Jet and SJ were not immediately available for comment.

During the pandemic last year the airline laid off about 700 of its roughly 1,600 employees and has struggled to find a strategic investor since July, when No.1 budget carrier Jeju Air scrapped a plan to acquire it.

In January, Eastar Jet filed for court receivership to consider its options.

Eastar Jet flew 35 routes with 19 planes, including two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft as of March last year, a regulatory filing showed.

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang; editing by Jason Neely) ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com;))