MONTREAL (Reuters) – The biggest shareholder in Air Canada AC.TO and Transat A.T. Inc TRZ.TO said on Tuesday that AC’s revised offer for the Canadian tour operator was “a very reasonable one,” given the turmoil in the aviation industry.
Peter Letko, a co-founder of investment manager Letko Brosseau, called the deal “good news” but said the firm would wait to see if a rival bidder emerged before committing to the Air Canada offer.
On Saturday, Air Canada, Canada’s biggest airline, cut the deal value to buy Transat by nearly 75% to about C$188.7 million ($143.9 million), down from C$720 million, as COVID-19 weighs on travel demand.
Transat shares rose as much as 30% as Air Canada’s revised offer raised optimism the