San Miguel Corp acquires minority stake in Philippine Airlines

San Miguel Corp, one of Philippine’s biggest conglomerates, recently acquired a minority stake in Philippine Airlines. Both the sides have, however, refused to disclose any details over the transaction. The deal was signed between Lucio Tan, Chairman of Philippine Airline, and San Miguel's president, Ramon Ang.

Philippine Airlines flights have been making huge financial losses for quite some years now leaving the airline in dire straits.

San Miguel Corp is best-known for its beer, but has diversified into a wide range of business sectors in recent years. The company said in a statement that it will also acquire a minority stake in Philippine Airline’s low-cost subsidiary Air Phil as part of the deal.

The airline had reported a net loss of $33.5 million in the three months ending December 2011. The losses were primarily because of rising jet fuel costs. The airline was desperate to upgrade its fleet and was looking for fresh investments. It also wanted to regain its status as Philippine’s most popular carrier which it had lost to low-cost rival Cebu Pacific.