Vietnam Airlines will sell an 8.77% stake to Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc. by the end of the month.
ANA Holdings to buy 8.77% stake
The announcement was made at the shareholders meeting on May 23 with the deal likely to be sealed by the end of May. The 8.77% holding will be sold for USD108m. ANA Holdings will become Vietnam Airlines' strategic partner and has their own executive on the board.
Leaders of Vietnam Airlines said with help from ANA Holdings, Vietnam Airlines could continue improving its business administration, finance, service quality and technology.
The airline will continue seeking more partners to reduce the state-owned stake from 75% to 65%.
The national flag carrier’s business report for 2015 shows that the airline’s revenue reached USD3.1bn with pre-tax profits of USD45m. The carrier also successfully divested USD37m from 13 non-core businesses.
Its goal for 2016 is to record USD3.5bn in revenue and USD104m in pre-tax profits.
ANA has been scouting for acquisitions in Southeast Asia since 2013. A plan to buy a stake in Myanmar’s Asian Wings Airways Ltd. was dropped in 2014.
