TORONTO — Aimia Inc. has rejected an unsolicited US$180-million offer by Mexican airline operator Grupo Aeromexico to buy the Montreal-based company’s stake in their joint loyalty program PLM.

The proposed transaction to buy Aimia’s 48.9% stake in Premier Loyalty & Marketing (PLM), a joint venture which owns the Club Premier frequent flyer program, would have given Grupo Aeromexico full control.

“The Company has promptly rejected the offer as it believes that its stake in PLM is worth significantly more than the offer price, which reflected no improvement whatsoever to the terms previously proposed by Aeromexico to Aimia in prior discussions between the parties,” Aimia said in a statement Thursday.

Aimia noted that PLM generated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of US$77.4-million in 2017, and the contract between the two parties runs until 2030.

The offer came one day after a group led by Air Canada offered to buy Aimia’s loyalty business Aeroplan in a deal valued at $2.25 billion, including points liabilities they would assume.

Air Canada told its clients that the proposed transaction, which expires Aug. 2, would allow customers to transfer their points to the airline’s own loyalty program when it launches in 2020.

Grupo Aeromexico said Thursday that the US$180 million price tag, including dividends and marketing fees paid to Aimia since its investment, represents an annualized rate of return for the Montreal-based company of approximately 18%. The group also said launching an initial public offering of PLM is not an option.

“For this reason it is Aeromexico’s view that the best long-term solution for all stakeholders is for Aeromexico to acquire the equity stake currently held by Aimia,” it said in a statement.