China’s market regulator approved ANA Holdings’ acquisition of Nippon Cargo Airlines on Tuesday, ending a protracted review process that delayed the transaction six times since its original October 2023 target date.
The State Administration for Market Regulation imposed binding commitments requiring ANA and the merged entity to maintain existing cargo ground-handling agreements at Tokyo’s Narita and Osaka’s Kansai airports. The conditions aim to preserve fair competition in the China-Japan air cargo market.
The approval removes the final regulatory hurdle for Japan’s largest airline to acquire the freighter specialist from shipping group NYK. Japan’s Fair Trade Commission conditionally cleared the deal in January after ANA agreed to provide competitor Polar Air Cargo with block space agreements on lucrative trans-Pacific routes.
NYK decided to divest NCA due to mounting operational costs that the shipping company struggled to justify. NCA operates eight Boeing 747-8 freighters and owns five additional 747-400s operated by third parties, while ANA runs a smaller cargo fleet of six 767 freighters and two 777 freighters.
The transaction, first announced in March 2023, faced scrutiny over potential market concentration on key Japan-US cargo routes. Competition authorities expressed particular concern about services to Los Angeles and Chicago, where the combined entity would command significant market share.
Financial terms remain undisclosed, though ANA expects the acquisition to strengthen its position against global cargo carriers.
