Investindustrial and KKR sell Avincis for €2bn
Investindustrial and KKR have sold Avincis Group, a supplier of helicopter and fixed-wing emergency services, to UK engineering services firm Babcock in a deal that gives the firm an enterprise value of around €2bn.
The deal is subject to approval at Babcock's general meeting in April as well as regulatory clearances.
The buyer entered exclusive discussions to take over the firm in November 2013 with the aim of extending its presence outside the UK.
Previous funding
Investindustrial bought a 75% stake in World Helicopters, the holding company of Avincis (then Inaer), for €205m in 2005, according to unquote" data. The GP invested via Investindustrial III, which closed on €500m in 2005. Ariadne, Emisys Capital and Oquendo Capital provided mezzanine financing.
In 2010, Investindustrial mandated JP Morgan to find a buyer for a 50% stake in the company. The same year, KKR bought a 49.9% stake in the firm, in a deal valuing the company at €700m. The investment was all-equity, leaving the firm's existing debt structure in place. Investindustrial and the firm's management remained in the shareholding structure.
In 2011, holding company World Helicopter acquired Bond Aviation for €300m, including a €150m debt package provided by Lloyds TSB.
Company
UK-based Avincis provides helicopter and fixed-wing emergency services including medical emergencies, search and rescue, fire-fighting, surveillance and civil protection. The firm also supplies offshore crew-change helicopter services to the oil and gas industry in the North Sea and Australia.
The group has grown acquisitively under private equity ownership, bolting on nine companies and subsequently being renamed Avincis Group. At the end of 2013, the firm had an order book of €2.3bn – a 30% increase on 2012.
Avincis operates in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, the UK, Norway, Australia and Ireland. It has a fleet of around 350 aircraft and employs around 3,000 staff.
People
Andrea Bonomi is senior partner at Investindustrial. Mattia Caprioli is head of KKR's services sector team in Europe.
Advisers
Vendor - Hogan Lovells, Ed Harris, Leanna Moezi, David Harrison (Legal).
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