M&A Deal Summary

Onex Partners Acquires WestJet Airlines

On May 13, 2019, private equity firm Onex Partners acquired airliner WestJet Airlines for 5.0B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Onex Partners’ 1st transaction in the Airlines sector.
  • This is Onex Partners’ 4th largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Onex Partners’ 3rd transaction in Canada.
  • This is Onex Partners’ 1st transaction in Alberta.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2019-05-13
Target WestJet Airlines
Sector Airlines
Buyer(s) Onex Partners
Deal Type Going Private
Deal Value 5.0B USD
Advisor(s) CIBC Capital Markets
BofA Securities (Financial)
Blake, Cassels & Graydon
Norton Rose Fulbright (Legal)

Target

WestJet Airlines

Calgary, Alberta, Canada
WestJet is Canada’s second largest airline, providing critical infrastructure to Canadians in the form of scheduled service to over 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. WestJet Airlines was founded in 1994 and is based in Calgary, Alberta.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Onex Partners

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1984
PE ASSETS 23.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Onex Partners is the private equity investment arm of Onex Corp., a Canadian based public investment and asset management firm that also invests in real estate and credit securities. Onex Partners targets investments in large companies, and ONCAP which invests in smaller middle-market companies. Both groups consider North American businesses in a wide range of industries with a special interest in aerospace, healthcare, and industrial companies. Prospective transaction situations include corporate carve-outs where the firm can leverage restructuring capabilities. Onex Corp. was established in 1984 and is based in Toronto with an additional office in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 51 of 58
Sector (Airlines) 1 of 1
Type (Going Private) 4 of 4
State (Alberta) 1 of 1
Country (Canada) 3 of 3
Year (2019) 4 of 5
Size (of disclosed) 4 of 30
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-04-30 Convex

Smiths, Bermuda

Convex is a specialty property and casualty insurance company headquartered in Bermuda with an office in London. Convex Group writes insurance and reinsurance with a focus on underwriting complex specialty risks across a diversified range of business lines.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-07-08 York Risk Services Group

Parsippany, New Jersey, United States

York Risk Services Group is a provider of customized claims management, managed care, risk management, pool administration, and specialized loss adjusting services to markets including public entities, programs, carriers and all types of self-insureds.

Sell -
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal