EU Clears HNA's Purchase Of Swissport

The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of the Swissport group of companies by China's HNA Group, a deal expected to help the Swiss ground handler broaden its reach into Europe.

The Commission, the EU's executive which rules on antitrust issues, said that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns because the companies' activities do not overlap.

It also said that the merged entity would not be able to shut out competing suppliers of ground handling or cargo handling services because HNA Group only had a limited share of demand for such services.

HNA Group, the owner of China's Hainan Airlines, will pay CHF2.7 billion Swiss francs (USD$2.8 billion) for Zurich-based Swissport from European private equity firm PAI Partners.