Groupe Mach withdraws bid for Transat

Air
07-03-2019 4:17 pm
Christine Hogg

Christine Hogg

Christine Hogg is the Associate Digital Editor at PAX Global Media. Prior to joining PAX, she obtained her Honours BA in Journalism from the University of Toronto. Upon graduating, she went on to write for several travel publications while travelling the world. Her longest trip was a three-week stint in Europe, and the shortest was a 16-hour adventure in Iceland. Get in touch: christine@paxglobalmedia.com.

Groupe Mach has decided to pull its bid for Transat A.T. Inc., claiming Transat didn't communicate with the company at all, and ignored its proposal.

The Canadian Press reports that the announcement came Wednesday afternoon.

Air Canada's terms provide for a break fee of $15 million payable by Transat in case of termination of the agreement in certain circumstances, including upon acceptance of a superior proposal that is not matched by Air Canada.

Technically speaking, this means Transat has until Aug. 26, 2019 to find a higher bidder than Air Canada, hence why Groupe Mach is vocalizing its disappointment; at $14 per share for a bid of one billion dollars, the proposal was significantly higher than Air Canada's bid of $13 per share, or roughly $520 million.

The Arrangement Agreement also provides for the payment by Air Canada of a reverse break fee of a maximum of $40 million in the event that the agreement is terminated because regulatory or governmental approvals are not obtained, subject to certain conditions.

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