ANA Holdings has acquired a 9.5% stake in PAL Holdings, the parent firm of Philippine Airlines and PAL Express, for USD95 million.
According to a Tokyo bourse announcement, the Japanese group acquired the shareholding from PAL's majority shareholder, Trustmark Holdings Corporation. Trustmark is itself owned by Lucio Tan, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Philippine Airlines, and his family.
"Asia is a key growth market and we believe Philippine Airlines is in an excellent operational position to capitalize on both the strong uptick in air traffic growth as well as the vibrant, expanding Philippine economy," Shinya Katanozaka, the President and CEO of ANA Holdings, said. "We look forward to expanding our business relationship with Philippine Airlines so we can continue to serve our passengers even better."
Completion of the investment is subject to certain closing conditions.
In terms of their existing ties, ANA and Philippine Airlines have a codeshare agreement wherein ANA - All Nippon Airways places its code on Philippine Airlines-operated flights between Manila Ninoy Aquino International, Cebu, Puerto Princesa, and Davao domestically as well as on flights from Cebu and Manila to points across Japan. In turn, Philippine Airlines places its code on ANA-operated domestic Japanese flights as well as on its Tokyo-Manila routes.
