GED Capital buys aircraft interior specialist Aire

Alessia Argentieri
11 April 2019

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Spanish lower-mid-market investor GED Capital has acquired a majority stake in Aircraft Interior Refurbishment España (Aire), which specialises in the manufacturing and maintenance of aircraft cabin interiors.

Unquote understands that GED bought a 70% stake in the company from the founders, who retained the remaining 30% holding and will stay on with the company in their current roles.

This is the first investment made by the GP via its new fund, GED VI España, which was launched with a €175m target and held a €100m first close at the end of March. The vehicle deploys equity tickets in the €15-20m range in companies generating EBITDA of between €3-7m.

In addition to the equity drawn down from the fund, a debt package was provided by Santander to support the deal, Unquote understands.

The GP plans to consolidate Aire's market position, and boost its organic growth and international expansion across Europe and Latin America.

Company
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Madrid with an office in Palma de Mallorca, Aire specialises in the design, manufacturing, installation and maintenance of seats, panels, carpets, covers and interiors of aircraft cabins. The company's client base includes several Spanish and international aviation companies, such as Airbus, Air Europa, Wamos and Vueling.

Aire employs 120 staff and generated EBITDA of around €4m from revenues of €14m in 2018.

People
GED Capital – Enrique Centelles Satrústegui (managing partner).
Aire – Carmelo Porras, José Luis Mamolar (co-founders).

Advisers
Equity – King & Wood Mallesons (legal); Arthur D Little (commercial due diligence); KPMG (financial due diligence); EY (tax)
Company – CMS Albiñana (legal).