WestJet has agreed to be acquired by Onex Corporation and will become a private company in a deal valued at $5-billon.

(Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Completion of the deal’s subject to a number of conditions but the airline’s board of directors has unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favour at a meeting expected to be held in July.

The deal’s expected to close later this year or early next.

WestJet began in Calgary in 1996 and expanded from a low-cost domestic airline to an international carrier. 

Toronto-based Onex, a private equity firm, says it manages $31-billion in assets.