Japan carrier Skymark's creditors vote for ANA-led rescue

Creditors of Japan's bankrupt Skymark Airlines on Wednesday voted in favour of a rescue plan led by All Nippon Airways (ANA), edging out a rival bid that included US carrier Delta. More than half the troubled firm's creditors chose an 18 billion yen ($145 million) turnaround scheme that would see Skymark's banks, ANA and a domestic asset manager take ownership, the airline said. "At the debtors' meeting today, the revival plan that Skymark submitted passed and received approval from the Tokyo District Court," the airline said. Under the deal, investment fund Integral would take a 50.1 percent stake, while a fund set up jointly by the Development Bank of Japan and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp would get a 33.4 percent share. ANA Holdings, parent company of All Nippon Airways, would own 16.5 percent of Skymark. Skymark, which flies on domestic routes, filed for bankruptcy protection in late January in the face of potentially massive penalties linked to a cancelled $2.2 billion jet order with Airbus. The still-operating airline's efforts to turn itself around failed as it struggled against tough competition in the sector, while its troubles deepened after the deal with Airbus collapsed last summer. Airbus, a major creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings, was leaning towards supporting the ANA-led rescue plan, the Nikkei business daily reported earlier Wednesday. If the competing plan -- which was led by US firm Intrepid Aviation and joined by Delta -- had been successful, Delta would have been the first foreign airline to get access to slots for domestic flights at Tokyo's downtown airport. The coveted slots are currently limited to Japanese carriers, including ANA and Japan Airlines as well as Skymark.