Aimia buys remainder of Nectar Italia
By Adnews Staff
Montreal-based loyalty program company Aimia has signed an agreement to acquire the 25% stake in Italian loyalty program Nectar Italia owned by Banque Accord S.A. The deal will give Aimia full ownership of the program. The purchase price is approximately $9 million. Launched in 2010, Nectar Italia has approximately 9.5 million members and long-term contracts with sponsors Auchan, Simply Sma and 12 others. "Our ability to deliver significant numbers of new members despite the deterioration in the Italian economy over the last three years is testament to the value members can derive from participating in coalition loyalty programs," said Rupert Duchesne, group CEO of Aimia. "We continue to make investments based on the value that we believe they can bring over the longer term for shareholders."