HNA Group to acquire Swissport for $2.8b

HNA Group Co Ltd has agreed to acquire the world's largest ground and air cargo services firm Swissport International Ltd from European private equity firm PAI Partners for about $2.8 billion, the Haikou, Hainan province-based conglomerate said on Friday.

Swissport is the world's largest ground and cargo handling company providing ground services for about 224 million passengers and handles 4.1 million metric tons of cargo every year for about 700 companies in the aviation sector. It generated revenue of about 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.12 billion) last year.

The transaction is subject to the customary regulatory and anti-trust approvals and is expected to close by the end of this year, HNA said, adding that it would also be the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company this year.