MEXICO CITY, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Shares in Mexican airline Volaris jumped nearly 20% in early trading on Friday after plans to create a joint airline group with rival Viva Aerobus were announced.
Volaris shares were on track for their best day ever. Gains from yesterday’s close added 3.2 billion Mexican pesos ($177.87 million) to the company’s market capitalization, which reached 20.5 billion pesos.
Volaris and Viva Aerobus, two of Mexico’s largest airlines, said on Thursday that they had agreed to merge, creating a new low-cost airline group that would become the country’s largest domestic carrier.
The deal, a merger of equals that was first reported by Reuters, will see both airlines retaining their own brands.
($1 = 17.9908 Mexican pesos)
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Noe Torres; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle)
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