Air Canada has completed an $800 million substantial issuer bid, agreeing to buy back 27,586,206 Class A variable voting shares and Class B voting shares at $29 each. The transaction, carried out in Montréal, will leave about 252.7 million shares outstanding once the purchased stock is cancelled.
The offer was oversubscribed, with about 66.8 million shares validly deposited, so only around 41% of eligible shares tendered at or below the final price will be taken up, apart from odd-lot holdings. Settlement is due by 2 October 2026 through TSX Trust Company as depositary.
Air Canada financed the repurchase in part with proceeds from its minority equity investment in Aeroplan by funds managed by Blackstone and La Caisse, alongside other Canadian institutions. The airline had set the auction range at $29 to $33 per share before fixing the final purchase price at the bottom of that range.
The company also said the buyback will be cancelled and reduces its equity base to below pre-pandemic levels. For shareholders who tendered shares, Canadian tax treatment deems them to have received a dividend of $18.40 per share, based on an estimated paid-up capital of about $10.60 per share.