The parent company of All Nippon Airways, or ANA, recently confirmed that it is making a substantial investment towards the Philippines' premier airline company, the aptly named Philippine Airlines. The said investment amounts to $95 million and will give All Nippon Airways a minority stake in the Philippines' official flag carrier.
The investment was announced by ANA Holdings on Wednesday. By investing $95 million, ANA Holdings will essentially own 9.5 percent of outstanding shares of PAL Holdings which is the listed parent company of Philippine Airlines. ANA Holdings will acquire these stocks from Trustmark Holdings Corporation a company owned by the Lucio Tan family, which coincidentally is also the largest shareholder in PAL Holdings.
In a statement acquired by the Philippine Star, PAL President Jaime Bautista said, "We are honored and excited that a premier airline group such as ANA Holdings has decided to purchase shares in PAL Holdings. The Philippines and Japan have a long-standing relationship with Complementary strengths."
Philippine Airlines is the only airline company to have earned a four-star rating in the Philippines. Many market analysts have noted that with the recent investment from ANA Holdings, the flag carrier of the Philippines will find a new era of growth. Among the recent upgrades and improvements made by Philippine airlines was a full-scale expansion which improved its fleet to almost 100 aircraft and a network comprised of 80 destinations spanning four continents.
Mr. Bautista said that the announcement of ANA Holdings' investment also coincides with the commemoration of Philippine Airlines' 70th year of service to Japan. It was on Jan. 26, 1949 when the first Manila-Tokyo flight was launched.
The investment was viewed by many observers as a notable win for Philippine Airlines. On the other hand, many believe that ANA Holdings is also slated to have a huge long-term benefit for the deal. ANA Holdings is one of the top pioneers when it comes to investments in the Asian region, especially in the airline industry.
ANA Holdings' investment also shows how confident the company is with the Asian market, this is despite the fact that there is quite a high level of anxiety towards this particular segment of the global market. These anxieties were brought upon by the ongoing trade war between two of the world's largest economies, China and the United States.
ANA is one of the world's most revered airline company. It is also Japan's largest airline and has been consistently rated 5-stars for six consecutive years.
