All Nippon Airways has finally acquired Nippon Cargo Airlines, the company announced late Sunday, ending a two year saga and creating the world’s 14th largest airline group by tonnage transported.
ANA postponed completing the deal eight times because of delays in regulatory reviews. Chinese competition authorities approved the deal, with conditions, in early July. The Japan Fair Trade Commission approved the transaction in January.
The acquisition will help All Nippon Airways, which operates six Boeing 767 freighter aircraft and two Boeing 777 freighters, in addition to managing cargo carried by the company’s passenger aircraft, expand its international air cargo network and related products to better support shippers. In 2023, ANA had nine 767 cargo jets in the fleet.
Nippon Cargo Airlines owns and controls 15 Boeing 747 jumbo freighters: eight 747-8s it flies on its own, plus five older 747-400s operated on its behalf by U.S.-based Atlas Air and two 747-400s crewed by ASL Airlines Belgium.
Japanese ocean and transport company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, also known as NYK Line, agreed in March 2023 to sell NCA to ANA, saying it faced challenges making the investments necessary to maintain the fleet as operating margins contracted.
The companies took much longer than expected to finalize the deal because of difficulty receiving all approvals from nations where the companies operate, according to a high-level source with one of the companies. After initial delays, executives anticipated deal closure to happen in February 2024.
Earlier this year, ANA said it expected to complete the transaction on May 1.
“The strategic integration of NCA’s freighter network and specialized cargo expertise with the ANA Group’s existing infrastructure will greatly improve our capability to serve our customers’ needs,” said Koji Shibata, president and CEO of ANA Holdings. “We are committed to leveraging this expanded capacity and combined knowledge to deliver exceptional value in our cargo transport solutions globally.”
The final transfer of NCA shares to ANA occurred on Friday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
ANA international cargo revenue for the fiscal year first quarter ended June 30 slipped 2% to $286.2 million despite a 2.5% increase in traffic volume. Demand fell for shipments from China to North America, but ANA offset the decline with more shipments from the rest of Asia to North America.
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