Blockbuster Deals Boost Canada’s Airline Stocks by $5 Billion
Blockbuster Deals Boost Canada’s Airline Stocks by $5 Billion
(Bloomberg) -- The year has been one for the record books when it comes to Canadian airline stocks.
The country’s four biggest carriers have seen double-digit share price growth amid a myriad of deals and stake purchases. The corporate transactions have added a total of about C$7 billion ($5.3 billion) in market value to the companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Amazon.com Inc.’s deal announced Friday with Mississauga,Ontario-based Cargojet Inc. to take a potential ownership position in the cargo carrier added another notch as the Canadian stock rallied to a record high. Cargojet will issue warrants to Amazon in two tranches to purchase variable voting shares that will vest based on the achievement of certain commercial milestones.
Here’s a look at the other announced deals this year:
- Air Canada has been embroiled in a battle with rival bidder Group Mach Inc. to acquire Transat A.T. Last week, Canada’s largest airline upped its offer to C$720 million, securing support from the tour operator’s largest shareholder. Air Canada has surged 70% this year, the best-performing stock in the Bloomberg World Airlines Index. Transat has more than doubled.
- In May, WestJet Airlines Ltd. agreed to be acquired by Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. for C$3.5 billion in cash. Westjet has gained 72% on the year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Divya Balji in Toronto at dbalji1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Madeleine Lim at mlim131@bloomberg.net, David Scanlan
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.