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Or sign-in if you have an account.Aeroplan has more than 10 million members worldwide who can redeem points on Air Canada or through its partner network of airlines and its hotel and car rental affiliates. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/PostmediaBlackstone Inc. and a group of Canadian pension funds are buying a 25 per cent stake in Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty program for $2.5 billion.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorOther investors in the group include three large Canadian asset managers — the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, PSP Investments and British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the airline announced Tuesday.The announcement confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. The deal puts a value of $10 billion on the Aeroplan business, about $2.4 billion more than Air Canada’s stock market capitalization.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againShares of Air Canada rose 12 per cent in Toronto to $30.55 as of 9:48 a.m. on Wednesday, reaching their highest intraday level since March 2021.Analysts were impressed by the deal terms. Air Canada made “few, if any, major concessions” to the investor group, Stifel analyst Daryl Young said in a note to clients. Air Canada will retain control of Aeroplan and will have the right to repurchase the 25 per cent stake between the fifth and eighth anniversaries of the deal’s closing. For Blackstone and the pensions, the upside is capped at an internal rate of return of 6.5 per cent.“We anticipate some investor pushback on whether this truly provides a $10 billion equity valuation mark given it looks more like a hybrid debt instrument, but regardless it appears to be a pretty eloquent structure at first blush,” Young wrote.Much of Aeroplan’s value is in its relationships with credit card issuers such as American Express Co., Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which pay the company for loyalty points that they then offer to card customers, who exchange them for plane tickets or other perks. Aeroplan has more than 10 million members worldwide who can redeem points on Air Canada or through its partner network of airlines and its hotel and car rental affiliates.“The implied valuation in this transaction is well ahead of our expectations,” National Bank of Canada analyst Cameron Doerksen wrote.The airline said it will use the money to meet an upcoming US$1.2 billion bond maturity, as well as for stock buybacks.Also on Tuesday, Air Canada released a dimmer outlook for full-year earnings due to surging jet fuel prices. It’s now forecasting adjusted Ebitda of $2.9 billion to $3.2 billion this year. Earlier in the year, it projected a range of $3.35 billion to $3.75 billion, but it suspended that guidance in April after the outbreak of war in the Middle East.The airline’s definition of adjusted Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and impairment. 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