5 / 23
4
First Quarter 2016
With global air travel up roughly seven percent in 2015, according to Statista,
major airlines including American Airlines Group Inc., Air Canada, and IndiGo are
upgrading their fleets and ordering new aircraft at a record pace. As this aircraft
buying spree heats up, so does the M&A market for original equipment parts
manufacturers. Private equity sponsors in particular are continuing to
aggressively pursue aerospace component manufacturers with an insatiable
appetite, including a few notable transactions highlighted below:
• In January, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. completed its $37 billion
purchase of Precision Castparts. Before the announcement of Berkshire’s
purchase, Precision was actively buying up competitors. Precision began by
announcing it would acquire Composites Horizons LLC, which makes high-
temperature composites used in engines, in July of 2015. Later that month
Precision also announced the purchase of Noranco Inc., which makes parts
for engines and landing gear, for $560 million.
• Liberty Hall Capital Partners purchased AIM Aerospace, an OE of aerospace
parts manufacturer, for $220 million and Bromford Industries, a manufacturer
of components for aircraft engines and industrial turbines in the first quarter of
2016.
• In March, KKR announced that it will be acquiring the Defense Electronics
business of Airbus Group SE for $1.2 billion.
• Heico Corp. has also been an active participant in the aerospace M&A
landscape. During the first quarter of 2016, Heico closed its acquisition of
Robertson Fuel Systems, a manufacturer of primary and auxiliary aircraft fuel
systems. In 2015, the Company completed the acquisition of Midwest
Microwave Solutions Inc., Astroseal Products Corp., and Aerospace &
Commercial Technologies.
• In 2015, Apollo Aviation Group and Kidd & Co. and Centerfield Capital
Partners-backed Imaginetics LLC acquired Azmark Aerosystems LLC.
Industry Trends
(Aerospace Component Manufacturers M&A update)
Source: S&P Capital IQ, Public filings
Buyer
Target
EV Announced
Noranco, Inc.
$560M 10/30/2015
Composites Horizons, LLC
NA 07/31/2015
Aerospace Dynamics International, Inc.
$625M 04/25/2014
Permaswage SAS
$600M 01/23/2014
SOS Metals, Inc.
NA 01/21/2014
Exacta Aerospace, Inc.
NA 08/15/2013
Breeze-Eastern Corp.
$206M 01/04/2016
Pexco Aerospace
$496M 05/14/2015
Telair Cargo Group
$725M 03/26/2015
Aerosonic Corp.
$40M 06/05/2013
Airborne Systems, Inc.
$264M 12/19/2013
Bromford Industries
NA 3/17/2016
AIM Aerospace, Inc.
$220M 02/03/2016
LaCroix Industries, Inc.
NA 07/28/2015
McCann Aerospace Machining Corp.
NA 04/02/2014
Precise Machining & Manufacturing, LLC
NA 11/14/2013
Robertson Fuel Systems, LLC (Tempe, AZ)
$255M 01/12/2016
Astroseal Products Manufacturing Corp.
$0M 08/24/2015
Midwest Microwave Solutions, Inc. (MMS)
$0M 08/24/2015
Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, Inc.
$0M 08/19/2015
Aeroworks International Holdings, B.V.
$0M 01/20/2015
Lucix Corp.
$50M 10/02/2013
Reinhold Industries, Inc.
$133M 05/31/2013
Notable Acquisitions and Consolidations