All Nippon Airways parent company ANA Holdings will take a 9.5% take in Philippine Airlines’ parent company PAL Holdings.
The stake will be purchased from a unit of the Lucio Tan Group, which is the largest shareholder in the company, but is far smaller than the 40% that PAL has signalled could be offered to a strategic investor.
ANA says that the investment in PAL reflects its “belief in the dynamism of the Asian region”, and will help to start a new era of growth at the Filipino carrier.
“Asia is a key growth market and we believe Philippine Airlines is in an excellent operational position to capitalise on both the strong uptick in air traffic growth as well as the vibrant, expanding Philippine economy,” says ANA president and chief executive Shinya Katanozaka.
“We look forward to expanding our business relationship with Philippine Airlines so we can continue to serve our passengers even better.”
ANA and PAL already have a strong codeshare relationship that links 16 Japanese destinations with 11 in the Philippines.
“It is a great privilege to celebrate this historic occasion by strengthening our ties with ANA, as we aim to build a relationship that is mutually beneficial with an eye to a more progressive future,” says PAL president Jaime Bautista.
In recent weeks ANA confirmed that it had been in talks with PAL, which has been seeking a strategic investor since 2012 to assist with its expansion and future growth.
It is ANA’s second successful investment in a Southeast Asian carrier, having taken an 8.77% stake in Vietnam Airlines in 2017. It has also attempted to invest in two carriers in Myanmar in recent years, but was forced to walk away from those plans.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
