Air Canada enters exclusive agreement to purchase Transat A.T. Inc.

Air Canada announced today that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Transat A.T. Inc. (Transat) regarding the proposed purchase by Air Canada of all issued and outstanding shares of Transat and its combination with Air Canada.

The proposed transaction, valued at approximately $520 million or $13.00 per share of Transat (on a fully-diluted basis), will create a Montreal-based global travel services company in leisure, tourism and travel distribution operating across Canada and internationally.

Necessary funding in order

Air Canada has all the necessary funding required to complete the transaction which is accordingly not subject to financing conditions.

"A combination with Transat represents a great opportunity for stakeholders of both companies. This includes the shareholders of both Transat and Air Canada, employees of both companies, who will benefit from increased job security and growth prospects, and Canadian travellers, who will benefit from the merged company's enhanced ability to participate as a leader in the highly competitive leisure travel market globally. The acquisition presents a unique opportunity to compete with the very best in the world when it comes to leisure travel. It will also allow us to further grow our hub at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, where we have added 35 new routes since 2012 to the benefit of the Montreal and Quebec communities, and from which we carried 10 million customers in 2018 alone," said Calin Rovinescu, president and chief executive of Air Canada.

The transaction remains subject to the finalization of definitive agreements, confirmatory due diligence, regulatory and shareholder approvals and other closing conditions usual in this type of transaction. 

There is no assurance that the transaction will be completed as described in this news release or at all. No further announcements are expected to be made by Air Canada until the signature of the definitive agreements unless required by law. Air Canada has retained Morgan Stanley as its financial advisor.

"This announcement is good news for Transat", said Jean-Marc Eustache, president and CEO of Transat. "This is an opportunity to team up with a great company that knows and understands our industry and has had undisputable success in the travel business. This represents the best prospect for not only maintaining, but growing over the long term the business and jobs that Transat has been developing in Quebec and elsewhere for more than 30 years."

Transat would like to point out that its operations continue in the normal course and that there will be no change for its clients, suppliers and employees. In particular, travellers and clients of Transat can continue to travel and book their vacation packages with Transat like before.

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