By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland declined comment Friday on the reported sale of the federal government's holdings of Air Canada shares.
"I will have an announcement to make in the coming days," she told reporters at a Toronto press conference. A spokesman for Air Canada didn't to requests for comment on the matter.
The government in April 2021 acquired newly-issued Class B voting shares in the Montreal-based airline, in exchange for emergency financing of up to 5.4 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of $3.8 billion, to help Air Canada deal with a pandemic-fueled slowdown in business. According to FactSet Research Systems, the Canadian government held 21.5 million shares.
The Globe and Mail reported Thursday the government's holdings were sold at C$25 per share in recent days, or above the estimated acquisition price of C$23.18 each. CTV News, citing two senior officials, also confirmed the Air Canada stock sale.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 13, 2024 14:13 ET (19:13 GMT)
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