Mexican airline Aeroméxico is taking back full control of its Club Premier (PLM) loyalty programme by buying out Aimia’s 48.9% stake for $405 million. After the completion of the deal, which is currently only under a binding letter of intent, PLM will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aeroméxico (through Aerovías). The parties expect the deal to close within six months of the bankruptcy court confirming the plan, pending its approval by the Mexican antitrust authorities.
"Today's announcement is another very exciting day for the Aeroméxico family and our Club Premier members,” said Andres Conesa, CEO of Aeroméxico. “This is an important milestone in the Aeroméxico restructuring process and marks a major step forward as we continue our complete transformation of the Aeroméxico customer experience. We would like to thank Aimia for their collaboration and close partnership over the past decade. Since 2010, our joint vision has built Club Premier into one of the leading airline loyalty programs in Latin America. Aeroméxico customers will benefit from a more relevant and agile program that represents the best option to reward loyalty both on the ground and in the air in Mexico and around the world across all destinations Aeroméxico serves."
Airlines are recognising the value of their loyalty plans more and more, with many leveraging them to raise financing. Aeromexico’s loyalty program boasted 6.7 million members in 2020, according to a filing in the airline’s Chapter 11 restructuring.
CEO of Aimia, Phil Mittleman, welcomed the move, wishing the airline every success and commented that the “substantial cash proceeds from this transaction”, combined with existing cash, investments, and significant operating and capital losses, “will optimally position Aimia to continue to capitalise on the best investment opportunities globally, and deliver strong returns to our stakeholders”.
Aimia, which invested in the plan in 2010, raising its stake two years later, has agreed to dismiss all of its claims on the airline as part of the sale.