Private equity firm Onex Corp. has agreed to acquire WestJet for $5 billion. Onex would acquire all outstanding WestJet shares at $31 per share, leaving the airline operating as a private company. WestJet shareholders will vote on the deal at a special meeting in July. WestJet board members unanimously recommended that shareholders vote for the transaction. The price is a 63 percent premium to WestJet's average trading price over the past 20 days, so shareholder approval is likely, according to a research note by Cowen and Co. Pending regulatory approvals, the deal could close at the end of this year or in early 2020, according to WestJet.
Clive Beddoe, WestJet chair and one of its founders when the Canadian carrier began operations in 1996, said, "Onex's aerospace experience, history of positive employee relations and long-term orientation makes it an ideal partner for WestJetters." Onex previously owned aerostructures manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems. The firm also made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Air Canada in 1999 and to merge it with Canadian Airlines; Air Canada later acquired Canadian Airlines itself. Onex also was a part of a private equity consortium that tried to acquire Qantas in 2006.
WestJet would maintain its headquarters in Calgary after the acquisition, according to Beddoe.