Airline News
Skymark deal complete
June 1st 2015
Skymark Airlines last week filed its rehabilitation plan with the Tokyo District Court with ANA Holdings, the parent of All Nippon Airways (ANA), to hold a 16.5% stake in Skymark, while Integral Corp. will take the majority 50.1% share and lead its reconstruction. Read More » The remaining 33.4% will be held by UDS Airlines Investment Limited Partnership, an investment fund established by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and the government-affiliated Development Bank of Japan (DBJ). There will be six directors on Skymark’s board, three appointed by Integral, two by ANA, and one by UDS. One of the directors appointed by Integral, most likely its head of investment, Nobuo Sayama, will become chairman. Meanwhile, Masahiko Ichie, director and managing executive officer of DBJ, will likely assume the presidency after the Tokyo District Court and creditors approve Skymark’s turnaround in July.
Before the filing, there had been intense speculation in the Japanese and international media that the deal was near to collapse because of opposition from the Airbus Group and Intrepid Aviation. Between them they hold more than half of Skymark’s 320 billion yen ($2.6 billion) debt. According to Reuters, Airbus and Intrepid objected to ANA’s bid because the carrier decided to withdraw from an agreement to take over the Intrepid leases for seven A330-300s, originally commissioned by Skymark, at the last minute.
