Onex Sweetens Bid to Buy 2 Canadian Airlines

Buyout firm Onex Corp. raised its offer to acquire Canada’s two airlines to about $1.4 billion in cash and stock in an effort to entice Air Canada stockholders to sell their shares. Onex said it will raise its cash offer for Air Canada shares to about $8.82 apiece, from the $5.60 it offered in August. The revised bid, up from $1.2 billion, also decreases the role of Onex’s partner, AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, which would sell its stake to other shareholders. The new bid comes in response to a competing bid by Air Canada last week that was meant to block Onex by buying back more than one-third of Air Canada stock. Onex, backed by American, offered $1.2 billion in late August to buy Air Canada and Canadian Airlines and merge them into one national carrier.