After takeover by General Dynamics, Jet Aviation targeting Brazil and India

Gulfstream Aerospace parent company General Dynamics has agreed to pay approximately $2.25 billion to buy Jet Aviation from the Permira Funds private-equity group. Subject to antitrust legal approval, General Dynamics’ acquisition of all Jet Aviation stock should be complete by year-end after Permira subsidiary Dreamliner Lux signed a SwF2.45 billion purchase agreement on August 19.
Permira bought Jet Aviation in October 2005 for an undisclosed sum (understood at the time to be in the region of $700 million) from its private shareholders (mainly the Hirschmann family). Earlier this year, there were rumblings that Permira intended to resell the company, but neither Permira nor Jet Aviation would confirm these reports at the time.
Jet Aviation will operate as an independent business unit of the General Dynamics Aerospace group. The Zurich-based company will continue to use its own brand name and that of the Midcoast Aviation FBO chain, which it acquired in March 2006.
Jet Aviation has 26 facilities throughout Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Asia. General Dynamics Aviation Services currently has six bases in the U.S., in Las Vegas; Dallas; Minneapolis; Appleton, Wis.; Westfield, Mass.; and West Palm Beach, Fla.
Jet Aviation is now targeting Brazil and India as platforms for further expansion of its service network, while consolidating its recently established new facilities in Moscow and Beijing. “With major backlogs there [in India and Brazil], the OEM community is requesting that we accelerate movement into these markets,” explained Jet Aviation CEO Peter Edwards.
Edwards told AIN that General Dynamics intends to keep the group’s full product portfolio intact, including FBOs, aircraft maintenance and completions, as well as charter and management operations.
01/09/08 Charles Alcock/Business Aviation/Aviation International News, USA

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Categories: Foreign Sep 2008, New Sep 2008