ANA Holdings gains CCCS approval for Nippon Cargo Airlines buyout

The commission cited three reasons for allowing the acquistion.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has cleared ANA Holdings’ (ANAHD) proposed acquisition of 100% of Nippon Cargo Airlines’ (NCA) issued share capital.

On 7 December 2023, CCCS conducted a public consultation and sought feedback from various stakeholders, including competitors and customers of ANAHD and NCA.

CCCS concluded that the proposed acquisition will not infringe section 54 of the Competition Act 2004, which prohibits mergers that have resulted or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition (SLC) within any market in Singapore. 

CCCS found that the acquisition is unlikely to lead to an SLC in the relevant markets for the following reasons:

1. There are multiple suppliers that are viable alternatives to the Parties (including competing airlines that operate indirect flights on the Relevant Markets), and third-party feedback generally indicates that the Parties are not the closest competitors to each other; 
2. The barriers to entry and expansion are not insurmountable, and it is possible for competing airlines to consider adding capacity, including through the addition of freighter aircraft operations, when a competitive opportunity arises; and 
3. Coordination between competitors is difficult as the prices charged to customers are not transparent due to specific requirements that need a direct negotiation process between customers and suppliers. The availability of alternative suppliers and ease of switching by customers would also create commercial incentives for suppliers to price competitively and disincentivise coordination.