Swissport becomes stand-alone business within HNA Group

ZURICH, 11-Feb-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — HNA Group Co. Ltd. (“HNA Group”) has closed its acquisition of Swissport Group (“Swissport”) from PAI Partners SAS (“PAI Partners”) today.

With the closing, Swissport becomes a stand-alone business within HNA Group. It continues to deliver the highest quality ground handling and cargo services to its airline customers across the globe. HNA will support the Swissport management in the execution of the business plan and continue to expand its global footprint.

Adam Tan, President of HNA Group commented the closing: “We welcome Swissport’s customers and employees into partnership with the HNA Group. Swissport is the world´s leading provider of ground and cargo handling services. It complements HNA’s existing activities including aviation, airport management, logistics, tourism, real estate and financial services”.

Eric Born, Group President & CEO Swissport commented: “Becoming part of HNA Group will enable us to further strengthen our service offering and continue to expand our position as the global leader in ground and cargo handling services”.

Ricardo de Serdio, Partner at PAI, added: “We are delighted to have played a part in Swissport’s transformation over the last few years. It has become a truly global platform and is now the world leader in ground handling and cargo services. Our investment in Swissport showcases PAI’s expertise and its capacity to transform a company and an industry on an international basis. HNA is now the perfect partner to help Swissport grow further in Asia and many other markets with exceptional potential.”

HNA Group, a Fortune Global 500 Company and a leader in aviation and tourism, was founded in 1993. In the past two decades, it grew from a local aviation transportation operator to a multinational conglomerate encompassing aviation, airport management, financial services, real estate, retail, tourism, and logistics. In 2014, HNA Group had revenues in excess of US $25 billion, US $72 billion in assets, 11 listed companies, and more than 110,000 employees worldwide. www.hnagroup.com

PAI Partners is a leading European private equity firm with offices in Paris, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich and Stockholm. PAI manages €8.1 billion of dedicated buyout funds. Since 1994, PAI has completed 58 LBO transactions in 11 countries, representing c. €40 billion in transaction value. PAI is characterised by its industrial approach to ownership combined with its sector based organisation. PAI provides portfolio companies with the financial and strategic support required to pursue their development and enhance strategic value creation. www.paipartners.com

Swissport is the world´s largest provider of ground and cargo handling services in the aviation industry. The company provides ground services for around 230 million passengers and handles 4.1 million tonnes of cargo a year on behalf of some 835 client-companies in the aviation sector. With a workforce of more than 61,000 personnel, Swissport is active at more than 290 stations in 48 countries across five continents, and generates consolidated operating revenue of CHF 3.0 billion. www.swissport.com

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CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS / PUBLIC RELATIONS

Sabine Fernandez Meinitz

Mailing Address:
Swissport International Ltd.
Corporate Communications
P.O. Box
CH-8058 Zurich-Airport

corporate.communications@swissport.com