News
ANA HOLDINGS increases Peach stake to 67%
March 3rd 2017
The three shareholders in Japanese budget carrier Peach Aviation — ANA HOLDINGS (ANAH), Hong Kong’s First Eastern Aviation Holdings (FE) and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) – have agreed to change Peach’s capital structure with a share transfer agreement. Read More »
ANAH will acquire 28.3% additional Peach shares from FE and INCJ for ¥30.4 billion ($271 million), increasing the ANA parent’s equity in the airline to 67%.
“We take the move by ANA management as a positive step to bring a second major LCC under its wings, which would give it more leverage and flexibility in the future, including a possible Peach merger with Vanilla,” said Hiroshi Hasegawa, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. “That said, we question the price and future return on investment.” ANAH fully owns another budget carrier, Vanilla Air.
Peach’s executive team, including CEO Shinichi Inoue, is expected to stay on at the carrier. Since its 2011 launch, Japan’s first LCC has steadily grown its business. It reported its first profit in fiscal 2013 and has been profitable ever since.
"As a co-founder of Peach, we at First Eastern are very proud of what it has achieved in the past six years. With even stronger support going forward from us as well as from ANAH and INCJ, Peach can only grow from strength to strength," said FE chairman, Victor Chu.
“Peach has developed into a ground-breaking airline that has firmly established low cost air travel in Japan thanks to the tremendous efforts and contribution of its management team and employees. As a shareholder we will continue to back Peach so that it can expand still further with the support of the ANA Group, and truly revolutionize the skies across Asia,” added INCJ president, Mikihide Katsumata.
Peach CEO, Shinichi Inoue, said the airline was extremely grateful for the continued support of its three shareholders. “Peach will strive to expand and develop and maintain its uniqueness with the backing of the ANA Group as a stable shareholder,” he said.
Peach operates 18 A320ceos on scheduled passenger flights to 19 destinations in Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. It has another five ceos and ten neos on direct order from Airbus.
