With the company still awaiting approvals from the Japanese and Chinese authorities among other reasons, ANA Holdings delayed the Nippon Cargo Airlines acquisition finalization date for the fourth time. The new target date for the transaction’s finalization is March 31, 2025.
Before selling its 27.59% stake to the cargo airline’s current owner Nippon Yusen, ANA was Nippon Cargo Airlines’ minority shareholder. Nearly two decades later, in March 2023, it was revealed that ANA Holdings would be acquiring the airline and later integrating it with ANA Cargo to expand its own cargo business.
The transaction was originally scheduled to be completed in October 2023 but was postponed three times before the latest postponement, first to February 2024, then April 2024, and then July 2024. Each time, delays in getting the necessary government approvals were cited as the postponement reason.
Both Nippon Cargo Airlines and ANA Cargo are based at Tokyo Narita Airport from where they operate a network of routes within Asia, as well as to Europe and the United States. The former operates eight Boeing 747-8Fs and the latter has 11 aircraft including nine 767-300 and two 777 freighters. ANA Cargo also has two 777-8Fs on order, which it expects to receive in 2028 at the earliest.
