Air Canada (AC, Montréal Trudeau), together with the Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and VISA Canada Corporation have submitted a conditional offer to Aimia Inc. for its Aeroplan loyalty program business unit.

According to a joint statement, the consortium is offering Aimia CAD250 million Canadian dollars (USD191.65 million) in cash for the Aeroplan business itself with a further CAD2 billion for Aeroplan points liability as at March 31, 2018. Overall, the cash offer is valued at CAD2.25 billion (USD1.72 billion).

It said the proposal implies an estimated market equivalent value of CAD3.64 per Aimia share, a 52.3% premium to the 30-day VWAP and a 45.6% premium to spot closing price as of July 24, 2018. The market equivalent value is comprised of the Aeroplan loyalty business proposal value of CAD1.64 per Aimia common share plus non-Aeroplan loyalty program net assets valued at CAD2.00 per common share based on fair market value estimates contained in Mittleman Investment Management's 1Q18 investor letter.

The parties have requested a prompt response from Aimia regarding the proposal, which has an expiry date of August 2, 2018.

Aimia has since said that while it has held private talks with the consortium prior to this announcement, it will consider the proposal in consultation with its legal and financial advisors to assess whether it is in the best interests of shareholders and the company as a whole.

Air Canada will lose exclusivity of Aeroplan in July 2020 when an existing contract with Aimia for its use expires.

Last week, Aimia unveiled early plans for its post-Air Canada business plans which include, among other options, its entry into the commercial airline business through the chartering in of aircraft from various third-party operators.

Meanwhile, Aimia has refused a non-binding offer submitted by Grupo Aeroméxico to acquire Aimia's 48.855% stake in PLM Premier, the firm that owns and operates Aeroméxico's frequent flyer program, Club Premier, for USD180 million.

Grupo Aeromexico, which currently controls 51.145% of PLM Premier, said the amount includes dividends and marketing fees paid to Aimia since its investment, and represents an annualized rate of return for Aimia of approximately 18%.

The Mexican carrier firm said that it has informed Aimia that the current contract between the group and PLM, that establishes Club Premier's basis of operation, will not be extended beyond its current expiration date.

As such, given its long-term intention to take full control of its loyalty program, Aeromexico said it does not consider an IPO of PLM to be an acceptable option. It, therefore, believes that the best long-term solution for all stakeholders is for Aeromexico to acquire Aimia's shares in PLM.

In its response, Aimia said "its participation in PLM is worth much more than the price offered, which does not constitute an improvement of the conditions previously proposed by Aeromexico to Aimia in the context of previous discussions between the parties".

It also pointed out that the contract between PLM and Aeromexico is valid until 2030.