Aimia expands in Spain

Article Excerpt

AIMIA INC. $19.13 (Toronto symbol AIM; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-205-7315; www.aimia.com; Shares outstanding: 173.4 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.8%) is buying 25% of Travel Club, Spain’s largest loyalty program. Travel Club, which generated 40 million euros of revenue in 2013, has 6 million members and 30 business partners. Aimia plans to use its international experience to expand Travel Club’s member base and attract partners from new areas, including finance, fashion, insurance and the telecom industry. The company has lots of experience with European loyalty programs. For example, it built Nectar, the U.K.’s leading coalition loyalty program, from a start-up into a multinational business in just 10 years. Today, Nectar has 19 million members, which amounts to more than 50% of U.K. households. Aimia has also built a significant presence in the Italian customer-loyalty market through Nectar Italia. Aimia is still a buy. buy…