Discovery Air goes private
Private equity firm Clairvest Group Inc. and others to buy public shares
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
An agreement was reached last month for the purchase of the remaining public shares of Discovery Air Inc., which owns Air Tindi and Great Slave Helicopters.
Discovery Air Inc. public shares will be bought out at 20 cents apiece by a private equity firm. Discovery owns Air Tindi and Great Slave Helicopters. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
Toronto-based private equity firm Clairvest Group Inc. and the funds it manages will pay 20 cents per share to buy up public shares of Discovery, according to a news release from Clairvest.
The deal still must be approved by shareholders, which is expected to occur before June.
The purchasers already own more than 90 per cent of Discovery's shares and have indicated they will support the deal.
It is expected to result in a cash payout of $1.5 million to shareholders whose holdings are being bought.
Jacob (Koby) Shavit, president and CEO of Discovery Air, stated in a news release "the proposed transaction is a logical evolution for Discovery Air given our current ownership structure. Our management team and employees look forward to continuing to work with Clairvest as we maintain our ongoing focus on delivering skillful and efficient specialty aviation and logistics services to our customers."
It's not clear how the change in ownership structure could impact the company's Northern operations, if at all.
Sheila Venman, vice-president of human resources and communications for Discovery, said there wasn't much more to say about the issue than what is included in a news release.
"It's really an ownership change, a structural change," Venman said, deferring comment to Clairvest.
A message left with Clairvest requesting an interview was not answered by press time.
The firm began its stake in Discovery in 2011.
Discovery's share price has tanked in recent years, down 95 per cent from five years ago.
Air Tindi operates cargo and passenger flights in the territory and together with Advanced Medical Services has the medevac flight contract with the GNWT.
