Carlson Marketing Worldwide has been acquired by Groupe Aeroplan Inc., a loyalty management company based in Canada. The net purchase price for the transaction was $175.3 million, including transaction costs.

Carlson Marketing offers loyalty marketing services, and engagement and event management. Carlson Marketing had been part of Carlson Companies Inc. The company has operations in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific region, and the Middle East.

Groupe Aeroplan owns Aeroplan, a Canadian loyalty program, and Nectar, a coalition loyalty program based in the U.K. In the Gulf Region, Groupe Aeroplan owns 60% of Rewards Management Middle East, the operator of Air Miles programs in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain. Groupe Aeroplan also operates LMG Insight & Communication, a data analytics business offering international services to retailers and their suppliers.

The transaction secures for Groupe Aeroplan a footprint in the U.S. A team from Petsky Prunier, led by Sanjay Chadda and John Prunier, served as exclusive financial advisor to Carlson Companies, Inc.

Groupe Aeroplan Inc., a loyalty marketing firm that serves a multi-national market, has acquired Carlson Marketing, a US-based loyalty marketing services provider, from Carlson Companies Inc. Groupe Aeroplan paid $175.3 million for the company.

Groupe Aeroplan expects to incur one-time costs of roughly $15 million in infrastructure migration costs. The transaction is expected to formally close by early December of this year.

“This acquisition is a logical extension for our company, as we diversify our business model to include a broader range of services within the loyalty management space in the US and internationally,” said Rupert Duchesne, president and CEO of Groupe Aeroplan, in a statement.

Groupe Aeroplan’s businesses and Carlson Marketing will continue to operate separately and independently. Groupe Aeroplan is based in Montreal. Carlson Marketing had been based in Minneapolis, MN. Carlson Marketing’s management team, which is led by president and CEO Jeff Balagna, will continue to run the operations.

In a statement, Carlson Companies president and CEO Hubert July said the sale of the marketing operations would free up resources which will be used to grow the company