Aug. 12 at 8:35 AM
$AC.TSX
$UAL $DAL $LUV $AAL I read the news about Air Canada yesterday. First, they announced that they sold 25% of Aeroplan to Blackstone and a few other investment funds for
$2.5 billion, while retaining 75% ownership.
Aeroplan is that points-and-miles program you earn through your credit card, like when they ask you at LCBO and Metro, “do you collect miles?” Aeroplan used to be an independent company that Air Canada acquired in 2019 for
$450 million. With today’s deal, it became clear that Aeroplan is worth
$10 billion, if someone paid them
$2.5 billion for a 25% stake.
$2.5 billion in cash is a lot, especially considering they didn’t take on any debt or issue new shares. Now they’ll use that cash to pay down some of their debt and buy back more shares.
And on top of that, yesterday's afternoon they released their earnings report, with record revenue ever.
