Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that Skymark Airlines plans to get re-listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).
According to the report, the airline has submitted an application to the exchange on October 25, 2019. The date of the potential re-listing is not known yet.
Skymark Airlines Plans to Be Re-Listed on the TSE
Skymark Airlines’ decision to apply to be re-listed on the TSE comes three and a half years after its March 2015 delisting.
While the date of the re-listing, assuming its approved by the TSE, is not known yet, the application time is in line with the airline’s original plan announced in 2017 to target 2020 re-listing.
The airline was started in 1996 and launched operations in 1998. It went public in 2000.
In early 2010s, the airline started facing financial difficulties because, among other reasons, it had placed orders for A380s at a time the Japanese yen was high and did not hedge. It went into bankruptcy protection in January 2015, and its stock was delisted on March 1, 2015.
As part of Skymark Airlines’ restructuring plan, the majority of the company was acquired by Japanese private equity firm Integral with other companies including ANA Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation participating as well.
Besides providing a capital injection, ANA Holdings also agreed to acquire three A380s from Airbus in lieu of Skymark Airlines’ cancellation of its order.
Currently, 50.1% of the airline is owned by Integral, 33.4% by a joint-venture between Development Bank of Japan and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and 16.5% by ANA Holdings.
Since the bankruptcy, Skymark Airlines has among other things:
- Cut unprofitable routes
- Phased out its A330
- Cancelled its A380 order
The last two are related to two decisions of the airline I cannot understand to this date: operating all-premium economy A330s on domestic flights for economy class prices and planning to launch Tokyo – New York flights with the A380s.
With that, the airline’s performance has improved – clearly to the point where it feels comfortable going public again.
Summary
While Skymark’s A380 order came as a shock to many, the downturn of the airline was not as surprising considering some of the decisions it made. However, in the end, the airline was able to go through a turnaround, and as a bonus, Airbus got to sell three of its A380s to ANA.
Recently, Skymark announced its first international scheduled flights (well, besides the failed New York route). This time, it was more modest and picked Saipan as the destination.
Last week’s decision to apply for re-listing on the stock exchange is another potentially great news for the airline’s future.
