(Reuters) - Canada's second biggest carrier WestJet Airlines Ltd on Monday accepted a C$3.53 billion ($2.63 billion) buyout offer from private equity fund Onex Corp, ending a two-month long strategic review.
The investment will be led by Onex Partners, Onex's private equity platform focused on larger investment opportunities and WestJet's board has urged shareholders to vote in favor of the deal.
Onex first approached WestJet's board in March. Its last known investment in the aerospace industry was in 2005, when it bought Spirit Aerosystems from Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co. It exited its investment in 2014.
As part of the deal, WestJet shareholders will receive C$31 for each share held, representing an about 67% premium to its closing price on Friday. Including debt, the deal is valued at about C$5 billion.
Canada's second-biggest carrier has had a rough start to 2019 as the worldwide grounding of Boeing 737 Max jets forced it to suspend its full-year outlook in March.
It also scaled back capacity growth as it looked to cut costs and attract higher-paying customers to turn it around after a turbulent 2018.
The deal is expected to close in the latter part of this year or early next year, the company said.
CIBC Capital Markets and BofA Merrill Lynch were the financial advisers to WestJet, while Barclays (LON:BARC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and RBC Capital Markets advised Onex.
