ACE Aviation Holdings

Last updated
ACE Aviation Holdings Inc.
Company type Public company
Industry Airline (NAICS 481000) [1]
Founded2004;21 years ago (2004) in Montreal, Quebec
DefunctMarch 15, 2024 (2024-03-15)
FateDissolved
Headquarters,
Canada
Key people
Robert Milton (chairman, president & CEO) [1] (until 2012)
ProductsPassenger air & Cargo travel
Revenue
  • Increase2.svgUS$10.135 billion (2006) [3] (CA$13.359 billion)
  • Increase2.svgUS$9.438 billion (2005) [1] (CA$12.452 billion)
  • Increase2.svgUS$0.392 billion (2006) [3] (CA$0.517 billion)
  • Increase2.svgUS$0.251 billion (2005) [1] (CA$0.331 billion)
Number of employees
33,090 (2008) [4]
Website aceaviation.com

ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. was a Canadian holding company that was the former parent company of Air Canada. It was headquartered in Montreal. In 2012, the company signified its intent to dissolve, [5] and was dissolved in 2024. [6]

Contents

History

ACE Aviation Holdings was created as Air Canada emerged from bankruptcy in 2004; [7] [8] By the end of 2005, ACE completed restructuring and achieved reduced costs through outsourcing, automation and process simplification. [9] One of the more significant changes was the merging of its six small airlines into Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz. ACE was not only a solution to Air Canada's bankruptcy, but also a strategic move by Robert Milton to create a portfolio of independent air transportation services companies out of what was Air Canada. [10]

Among the companies in addition to Air Canada which was taken public after formation of ACE was the frequent flyer program Aeroplan. [11] Aeroplan's initial public offering valued the company at US$2 billion, which was several times the valuation of the airline itself. [11]

In 2005, ACE contributed US$75 million in equity investment to the merger of America West Holdings and US Airways Group, which resulted in US Airways emerging from its second bankruptcy. [12]

In 2008, ACE completed its divestment of Aeroplan and Air Canada's regional airline affiliate, Jazz. [13] After these divestments, ACE retained a 75% stake in Air Canada and a 23% stake in Air Canada Technical Services. [13]

On May 9, 2012, the company received a certificate of intent to dissolve, marking the end of any future activities by the company. [14]

The company planned a wind up and distribution of its assets back to its shareholders by no earlier than mid-2013. While all of the core aviation assets have been disposed of, the corporate website continues to operate until all assets are fully disposed of. The company no longer has a board and executives, with all liquidation being managed by outside party Ernst & Young. As of 31 December 2019, filings state that ACE Aviation Holdings consisted of only cash and cash equivalents amounting to a total of CA$6,7 million. [5]

On March 15, 2024, the company was dissolved. [6]

Former operating divisions

Notes

  1. The company has been moved to the NEX board of the TSX Venture Exchange. These are former trading symbols.

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Plunkett 2007, ACE Aviation Holdings INC.
  2. "Get in Touch". ACE Aviation. Retrieved 15 June 2018.[ self-published source ]
  3. 1 2 Plunkett 2007, Index of Rankings Within Industry Groups, Air TransportationMajor Carriers.
  4. "Company Profile for ACE Aviation Holdings Inc (CA;ACE.A)". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  5. 1 2 "ACE Aviation Reports 2019 Annual Results". ACE Aviation. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Ace Aviation announces completion of final distribution, dissolution and delisting of common shares". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  7. Wexler, Emily (May 2012). "Going Glam At 75". Strategy. 23 (5). Brunico Communications: 40. ISSN   1187-4309 via Internet Archive.
  8. Winnick 2009, p. 9.
  9. Gomez 2016, pp. 41–42.
  10. "Robert Milton". AGM 2011. IATA. 2012. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
  11. 1 2 Zook 2007, p. 75.
  12. Subcommittee on Aviation 2006, p. 57.
  13. 1 2 "UPDATE 1-ACE sells remaining stakes in Aeroplan, Jazz Air". Reuters. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  14. "Federal Corporation Information - 445736-6 - Online Filing Centre - Corporations Canada - Corporations - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada". www.ic.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  15. "A J Walter Aviation buys the component repair business of Aveos".

Sources