Cebu Pacific pursuing talks with ALI for AirSWIFT buyout

MANILA, Philippines — Budget carrier Cebu Pacific is pursuing discussions to acquire the entire stake of property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) in boutique airline AirSWIFT.

Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Xander Lao, however, said there is still no definite timeline as to when they would be able to close the deal.

“We’re still in conversations with Ayala,” Lao told The STAR on the sidelines of a forum organized by San Miguel Corp. and the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines yesterday.

“They said they want to get rid of the entire (stake). What they said is AirSWIFT is not a core asset for them. So why would they stay if property development is their most important focus,” he said.

The STAR in July reported that the Gokongweis and the Zobels are in talks for Cebu Pacific’s acquisition of AirSWIFT from the Ayala Group’s property arm.

Cebu Pacific earlier confirmed the report, saying that it is engaging in exploratory talks with ALI but nothing definitive has been agreed upon.

ALI, on its end, said it is exploring opportunities with Cebu Pacific to improve its offerings.

The property giant previously said that they initially entertained other local airlines for the sale of AirSWIFT, but focus of current discussions is with Cebu Pacific.

AirSWIFT Transport Inc., founded in 2002 as Island Transvoyager Inc., has a fleet of five ATR aircraft. Its destinations include El Nido, Cebu, Boracay and Bohol.