All Nippon Airways has confirmed that it is in discussions on a possible investment in Philippine Airlines’ parent company, but has not sealed a deal to become its strategic partner.
“ANA continually reviews its market strategy and considers investment opportunities that would fit our Mid-Term Corporate Strategy for FY2018-2022. We are in discussion with PAL Holdings but we have not made a concrete decision yet,” the company states.
The comment comes after local Filipino outlet Inquirer.net and Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that ANA is finalising a deal that would see it take a 40% stake in PAL.
That prompted the Philippines Stock Exchange to seek clarification from PAL, which responded on 23 January that there was “no definitive agreement between PAL and any investor”, adding that it would “establish itself as a world-class airline, but said goal does not necessarily involve the entry of any investor.”
Nonetheless, the airline’s president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista has previously indicated that it hopes to finalise an agreement for a strategic partner to take a 40% stake in PAL during the first half of 2019.
Assuming the ANA talks lead to fruition, it will be the second time that the Japanese has bought into a Southeast Asian airline, after it took up an 8.77% stake in Vietnam Airlines in 2017.
ANA has also tried twice to invest in carriers in Myanmar, but those plans did not come to fruition.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
