Veritas buys StandardAero

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This article was published 26/05/2015 (3799 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

StandardAero has another new private equity firm owner.

The aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) firm whose largest operational centre is in Winnipeg has been sold to New York-based Veritas Capital.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprises, acquired StandardAero and Phoenix-based Landmark Aviation in 2007 from the Carlyle Group.

That deal had valued the StandardAero portion at just over $1 billion.

Shortly after DAE acquired StandardAero its head office and management team moved to the Phoenix area.

StandardAero is the world’s largest independent gas turbine engine MRO firm. Its sprawling Winnipeg operation has about 1,200 employees down slightly from a couple of years ago.

Landmark does airframe and engine MRO as well as avionics and interior refurbishing of mid-sized and heavy aircraft with several facilities in the U.S.

StandardAero also has a couple of large U.S. locations as well as a small facilities in The Netherlands, Singapore and Australia.

Terms of the Vertias transaction were not disclosed.

The deal is the first acquisition in the $1.8 billion Veritas Capital Fund V.

Early indication is that Veritas will keep current management and operations in place.

In a statement, Ramzi Musallam, managing partner of Veritas, said. “StandardAero is the leading independent provider of aircraft engine MRO services in North America and we are very excited for the opportunity to partner with Russell Ford and his leadership team to help drive its next phase of growth, including expanding the company’s presence globally. Without a doubt, StandardAero’s greatest asset is itsworld-class employee base and we look forward to building upon the strong foundation created by this talented organization over its 100+ year history.”

It’s StandardAero’s third change of ownership in 17 years, all in private equity deals.

Arguably each time the firm has grown in size and relative market presence.

In 1998 London-based Doughty Hanson & Co. acquired it from another British private equity firm, BTR. The Carlyle Group bought it in 2004 and newly formed Dubai Aerospace Enterprises acquired it in 2007 as part of a global buying spree.

StandardAero officials both in Winnipeg and at its Scottsdale head office are optimistic that the latest deal will allow it to continue to grow.

Ford, the Scottsdale-based CEO of StandardAero released a statement before noon saying, “StandardAero is excited to move on to the next phase of ownership for the company and a new partnership with Veritas Capital… StandardAero is fundamentally a very strong business and this change in ownership will ensure that we continue to achieve our business plans and build an aggressive trajectory for growth.”

DAE Managing Director Khalifa H. AlDaboos said in a prepared statement, “StandardAero is one of the world’s largest independent MRO platforms with clients in over 70 countries… This transaction will allow StandardAero to accelerate its growth by leveraging Veritas’ global relationships and in-market presence.”

Since 1998 Veritas has keyed on middle-market companies providing products, services or solutions to government customers.

Musallam also said, “StandardAero is a cornerstone investment of Veritas Capital Fund V and creates a new strategic platform for Veritas in commercial and military aerospace. We look forward to applying our deep investment experience within the aerospace market to support the growth of StandardAero.”