Mexican airline Volaris’ shares take off after merger plans with Viva Aerobus

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)