ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) is reportedly close to finalizing a possible investment deal with Skymark Airlines (BC, Tokyo Haneda) Japanese media reports have said.
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper quotes unnamed airline sources as saying ANA would likely assist the struggling LCC in ways including a code-sharing arrangement and taking on MRO work. It may also appoint executives to serve on the Skymark board, it said. However, in order for Skymark to retain its thirty-six Tokyo Haneda slots, ANA will restrict its capital investment in the carrier to less than 20% as any higher and it would effectively be considered a part of the ANA Group. This would then force Tokyo to reconsider the Haneda slots allocated Skymark.
During negotiations last week, Skymark's current sponsor, Tokyo-based investment fund, Integral, agreed with ANA executives that as part of any turnaround plan, Skymark would eventually be relisted on the stock market. The exact details of any such move will require further delicate talks.
With liabilities now said to stand at JPY284 billion (USD2.36 billion) including USD700 million in claims filed by Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) for a cancelled order of six A380-800s, Skymark is in talks with twenty other firms over ways they can support the airline through means other than capital injections.
Thus far, taxi operator Nihon Kotsu Co. and public relations firm Sunny Side Up Inc. have been given approval to provide operational support. The latter has been linked to a brand revamp that will likely be undertaken once a restructuring plan is finalized and approved by both the courts and creditors later this year.
