Onex Partners, the controlling shareholder of WestJet, has sold a 25% equity stake in the company to Delta Air Lines, Korean Air, and Air France-KLM, for a total investment of $547 million.
The equity sale was completed in three transactions: the first of 15% to Delta and the second of 10% to Korean Air. Delta then sold a 2.3% stake to its joint venture partner, Air France-KLM.
As a result, Delta now holds a 12.7% stake in WestJet, Korean Air 10%, and Air France-KLM 2.3%.
Delta invested $330 million in the 15% stake, and sold the 2.3% stake to Air France-KLM for $50 million.
In May this year, when the transaction was first announced, Korean Air was expected to invest $220 million in exchange for the 10% stake. However, in its latest statement on the acquisition, Korean Air disclosed that it paid $217 million.
The Onex Group, which includes Onex Partners and its affiliated funds and co-investors, will continue to own and control WestJet, retaining 75% of the Group's original investment.
"Our new partners are widely regarded as among the best-performing and most innovative airlines in the world," said Tawfiq Popatia, head of Onex Partners and board director at WestJet.
"This investment has created a terrific amount of value for Onex Partners and its investors to date, including through the unprecedented headwinds posed by the pandemic."
WestJet has been privately owned since 2019, when Onex acquired it for a investment of CAD $5bn ($3.57bn), made up of CAD $ 3.5bn in equity and CAD $1.5bn in assumed debt.
This price that Onex paid represented a 67% premium over WestJet's closing share price on its final day of public trading.
Following the acquisition, WestJet was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), where it previously traded under the symbol WJA.
Air France-KLM has partnered with WestJet since 2009, when the two companies launched interline ticketing.
Since then, the partnership has grown to include code sharing and reciprocal benefits for loyalty members.