Calgary advised on the sale of WestJet Airlines Ltd. to Onex Corporation for C$5bn

Our Calgary office advised the special committee of the board of directors of WestJet Airlines Ltd. (“WestJet”) on its acquisition by Onex Corporation and its affiliated funds. WestJet was acquired in an all cash transaction valued at approximately C$5bn. The transaction was originally announced in May 2019 and was completed on December 11, 2019. The special committee negotiated the transaction and provided oversight on all aspects of the transaction on behalf of the WestJet board.

WestJet is headquartered in Calgary and is one of Canada’s leading airlines, offering scheduled service to more than 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe.

Onex Corporation is a Canadian public company which invests and manages capital on behalf of investors from around the world through various investment platforms and has approximately US$38bn of assets under management.

The team involved with the transaction included Kevin Johnson, Marcus Archer, Darren Hueppelsheuser, Correna Jones, Matthew Longstaff, Joe Mooney, Kassy Corothers and Katherine MacPhail.