(Alliance News) - Gama Aviation PLC shares surged on Wednesday, after it said it agreed to sell its US maintenence, repair and operations business Jet East to West Star Aviation Enterprises LLC.

The Farnborough, England-based aviation services company said the deal for Jet East, the trading name of Gama Aviation (Eng) Inc, had an enterprise value of USD131 million, while net proceeds are around USD100 million.

Gama Aviation said the sale is conditional upon shareholder approval at a general meeting on November 3, with the transaction expected to complete shortly after.

Shares in Gama Aviation jumped 52% to 80.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

"After interest from several parties, we are delighted to have agreed the sale of Jet East to West Star Aviation. I believe the new owner will be an excellent guardian of our valued strategic relationships and, importantly, the people that deliver critical services to our customers every day," said Chief Executive Officer Marwan Khalek.

"The board and I have long since believed that the group has significant underlying value and the resultant proceeds from this transaction clearly affirm this perspective. Collectively we will now consider how the net proceeds of the transaction will be deployed to further the strategic ambitions of the group, support the continued hard work of our talented teams as well as rewarding the loyalty and support of our shareholders from this significant value realisation event."

By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter

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