Transat delays Air Canada's $720M takeover. Again.

Transat A.T. Inc. has once more delayed its closing deadline of its takeover by Air Canada.

Last summer, Air Canada made a $720 million-dollar (CAD) bid that was approved on August 23rd, 2019. However, since then, the deal has required approval by both Canadian and European regulators.

Since the possible transaction was announced, concerns have arisen over possible fare increases and less choice for those seeking to fly between Canada and Europe.

Back in June, EU regulators froze their inquiry into the Air Canada/Transat A.T. Inc. anti-trust probe, citing that more data is needed.. That same month, Transat hinted that there are “certain factors beyond its control and related to the COVID-19 pandemic” that could influence the outcome of the proposed arrangement.

According to Transat, the initial “outside date” was set on June 27th, which was at the time thought to be enough to cover the regulatory approval process.

This date may be deferred for three one-month periods upon notification by one of the parties, and subsequently for three additional one-month periods under certain conditions. Currently, both sides are waiting on approval by the Canadian and European Commission. 

"Since the European Union's decision is now expected between September 30th and November 19th, and there is no defined date for Canada's decision, we intend to use as many of those one-month periods as necessary. For now, we have extended the outside date twice, to July 27 and August 27," Christophe Hennebelle, spokesperson, Air Transat, told PAX.

On July 23rd, Air Transat resumed domestic and international operations, after months of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just days earlier, the airline announced that its Future Travel Credits no longer expire, and recently added a series of fuel-efficient Airbus aircraft to its fleet.

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