Provincial Airlines (St. John's) is set to be sold to Canada's Exchange Income Corporation (EIC) as part of a CAD246million (USD217.19million) deal to acquire parent Provincial Aerospace Ltd. (PAL), a diversified Canadian-based aerospace and aviation company. EIC is is a diversified acquisition-oriented company whose interests focus on three sectors in particular: aviation services and equipment, metal manufacturing, and infrastructure services.
Under the terms of the deal, the PAL Group will continue to be operated independently under its current management at its headquarters in St. John's.
"The decision to sell the company was very difficult but the sale to EIC is a great fit for a couple of reasons. First, the opportunities in front of PAL are tremendous and EIC clearly has the financial resources to enable the company to fully achieve them. Second, PAL is a Newfoundland & Labrador company with deep roots in the Province," PAL's two shareholders Gus Ollerhead and Tom Collingwood, commented. "EIC is not only committed to maintaining this presence, they are looking to expand it. They have a proven business model and it is a great fit for PAL. We look forward to Brian Chafe and his team realizing the company's full potential under EIC ownership."
PAL incorporates three subsidiaries namely Provincial Aerospace, an integrated aerospace and defence business which specializes in customized sensor-equipped maritime patrol aircraft in Canada, the Caribbean and the Middle East; and PAL Aviation Services which offers fixed base operations as well as ancilliary services at Halifax, NS and St. John's, NL.
The third subsidiary, Provincial Airlines, is an independent airline that operates a fleet of five Dash 8-100s, three Dash 8-300s, and two Saab 340Bs, on scheduled, charter and cargo services in Newfoundland, Labrador, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In addition, Provincial Airlines operates Innu Mikun Airlines (Goose Bay), a partnership with the Innu First Nations of Labrador, which services the coastal communities of Labrador.
