MONTREAL, May 3, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Groupe Aeroplan Inc., doing business as Aimia ("Aimia") (TSX: AIM) announced today that it has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange respecting the renewal of its normal course issuer bid to purchase for cancellation up to 17,179,599 of its common shares, or 10% of the public float of 171,795,996 common shares as at May 3, 2012, through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange and through alternative trading systems (such as Alpha ATS), or by other means as may be permitted by the TSX, such as prearranged crosses, exempt offers and block purchases, during the period from May 16, 2012 to no later than May 15, 2013. Aimia may also purchase common shares for cancellation by way of private agreements under an issuer bid exemption order issued by a securities regulatory authority. Purchases made on the open market through the facilities of the TSX and alternative trading systems will be at the prevailing market price at the time of acquisition. Purchases made by way of private agreements under an issuer bid exemption order issued by a securities regulatory authority will be at a discount to the prevailing market price as provided in the exemption order. As at May 3, 2012 there were 172,093,933 common shares issued and outstanding.
The average daily trading volume on the Toronto Stock Exchange for the past six months was 518,731 common shares. Under the regulations of the Toronto Stock Exchange, a maximum daily repurchase of 25% of this average may be made, representing 129,682 common shares. In addition, Aimia may make, once per week, a block purchase (as such term is defined in the TSX Company Manual) of common shares not directly or indirectly owned by insiders of Aimia, in accordance with the regulations of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The common shares purchased pursuant to the normal course issuer bid will be cancelled.
The Board of Directors of Aimia has concluded that the repurchase of common shares represents an appropriate use of funds to increase shareholder value, as the underlying value of Aimia may not be reflected in the market price of its common shares from time to time.
From May 16, 2011 to May 3, 2012, Aimia purchased an aggregate of 8,224,700 common shares pursuant to its current normal course issuer bid, representing 46% of the full amount Aimia was authorized to purchase, at a weighted average price of $12.15 per share.
About Aimia
Aimia is a global leader in loyalty management. Aimia's unique capabilities include proven expertise in delivering proprietary loyalty services, launching and managing coalition loyalty programs, creating value through loyalty analytics and driving innovation in the emerging digital and mobile spaces. Aimia owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program and Nectar, the United Kingdom's largest coalition loyalty program. In addition, Aimia has majority equity positions in Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia as well as a minority position in Club Premier, Mexico's leading coalition loyalty program and Cardlytics, a US-based private company operating in merchant-funded transaction-driven marketing for electronic banking.
Aimia is a Canadian public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: AIM) and has over 3,400 employees in more than 20 countries around the world. For more information about Aimia, please visit www.aimia.com.
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Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements are included in this news release. These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Such statements may involve but are not limited to comments with respect to strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions.
Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Any forecasts, predictions or forward-looking statements cannot be relied upon due to, among other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business and its corporate structure. Results indicated in forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results for a number of reasons, including without limitation, dependency on top accumulation partners and clients, conflicts of interest, greater than expected redemptions for rewards, regulatory matters, retail market/economic conditions, industry competition, Air Canada liquidity issues, Air Canada or travel industry disruptions, airline industry changes and increased airline costs, supply and capacity costs, unfunded future redemption costs, failure to safeguard databases and consumer privacy, changes to coalition loyalty programs, seasonal nature of the business, other factors and prior performance, foreign operations, legal proceedings, reliance on key personnel, labour relations, pension liability, technological disruptions and inability to use third party software, failure to protect intellectual property rights, interest rate and currency fluctuations, leverage and restrictive covenants in current and future indebtedness, uncertainty of dividend payments, managing growth, credit ratings, as well as the other factors identified in this news release and throughout Aimia's public disclosure record on file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
The forward-looking statements contained herein represent Aimia's expectations as of May 3, 2012, and are subject to change after such date. However, Aimia disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.
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