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HomeAviationAir Canada, TD, CIBC, Visa and Aimia reach agreement in principle for acquisition of Aeroplan Loyalty Business
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Air Canada, TD, CIBC, Visa and Aimia reach agreement in principle for acquisition of Aeroplan Loyalty Business

Purchase price consists of $450 million in cash and the assumption of approximately $1.9 billion of Aeroplan Miles liability.

TORONTO – Air Canada, The Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Visa Canada Corporation (collectively, "the Consortium") and Aimia Inc. announced that they have entered into an agreement in principle for the acquisition of Aimia's Aeroplan loyalty business.

"We are pleased to see that an agreement in principle has been reached as Aeroplan members can continue to earn and redeem with confidence. This transaction, if completed, should produce the best outcome for all stakeholders, including Aeroplan Members, as it would allow for a smooth transition to Air Canada's new loyalty program launching in 2020, safeguarding their miles and providing convenience and value for millions of Canadians," said Calin Rovinescu, President and CEO of Air Canada, on behalf of the consortium.

The transaction is expected to deliver significant value to Aimia's stakeholders and the agreement in principle was approved unanimously by Aimia's Board of Directors upon recommendation by its Special Committee of independent directors.  Mittleman Brothers, LLC, Aimia's largest shareholder who owns approximately 17.6% of Aimia's common shares, has provided a lock-up and support agreement under which it has agreed to vote in favour of the proposed transaction.

The aggregate purchase price consists of $450 million in cash and is on a cash-free, debt-free basis and includes the assumption of approximately $1.9 billion of Aeroplan Miles liability.

The transaction is subject to the satisfactory conclusion of definitive transaction documents, Aimia shareholder approval, and certain other conditions, including due diligence, receipt of customary regulatory approvals and completion by the Consortium of credit card loyalty program and network agreements for future participation in Air Canada's new loyalty program.

Air Canada Expands Acceptance of Alipay and WeChat Pay to North American and Hong Kong Websites
Also, Air Canada announced that Alipay and WeChat Pay as payment choices are now available when booking on the carrier's North American and Hong Kong websites. Air Canada is the first Canadian airline and is amongst the first North American carriers to offer these secure payment options in North America.

"Since last fall, our customers around the world have been able to use their preferred local method of payment when purchasing flights on aircanada.com in their home country, including Alipay and WeChat Pay options in China. With increasing numbers of customers purchasing tickets in North America and Hong Kong looking to use these alternate forms of payment, we are very pleased to expand AliPay and WeChat Pay options to aircanada.com bookings in Canada, the USA and Hong Kong. This is another important element of our global expansion strategy as we increase our focus on providing our international customers with their preferred method of payment when purchasing outside China," said John MacLeod, Vice President, Global Sales and Alliances at Air Canada.

Air Canada processes alternative and local payment methods via a single gateway. This makes it easy for the airline to expand, adding new payment methods as needed without requiring individual contracts, or additional development work. Air Canada's customers are able to transact locally on aircanada.com using iDeal in the Netherlands, Sofort and Giropay in Germany, Bancontact in Belgium, Poli in Australia, Alipay plus WeChat Pay in China, Canada, the USA and Hong Kong.

News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Angelos is the news editor for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). His role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy.

He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.

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