Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings could spin off its Aeroplan rewards program into an income trust and sell a minority stake in the initial public offering worth more than CAD$300 million (USD$237 million) as early as this week, a Canadian national newspaper said on Wednesday.

The Globe and Mail, citing sources familiar with the plan, said ACE is reviewing the terms of the IPO that would see a syndicate of investment dealers led by RBC Securities sell a minority stake of less than 20 percent of Aeroplan.

The plan gives the popular consumer rewards program a value of at least CAD$1.5 billion (USD$1.18 billion).

An Air Canada spokeswoman told the Globe and Mail that although ACE intends to sell a stake in Aeroplan, she could not provide any details on the structure or timing of the deal.

The company has been weighing a number of options including a plan for a US equity issue, but the idea of an income trust is most favored because of strong demand for trust IPOs.

The Aeroplan IPO would be the first spinoff for the company that emerged from bankruptcy protection at the end of September. It is also considering plans for its aircraft maintenance and regional Jazz airline divisions.

In the first three months of this year, Aeroplan posted a CAD$21 million (USD$16.6 million) operating profit on revenue of CAD$172 million (USD$135.9 million).