Warburg Pincus has entered into an agreement to acquire Wencor Group, a designer, repair provider and distributor of aftermarket aerospace components, from Odyssey Investment Partners which acquired the company in January 2010. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.
Wencor is a provider of aftermarket components to the commercial, military and general aviation aircraft sectors. Customers include commercial airlines and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers. Wencor’s Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) catalogue includes approximately 4,000 different parts for customers including airlines, maintenance, repair and overhaul shops and original equipment manufacturers. Wencor’s aftermarket distribution business provides a channel to more than 3,700 customers around the world. The company is led by Greg Beason, CEO, and is headquartered near Provo in Springville, UT (www.wencor.com).
“It was a pleasure to partner with Greg Beason and his team during our ownership. They did an extraordinary job of growing the breadth of Wencor’s products and services while further enhancing its reputation as a leader in the aerospace aftermarket. We believe there are many exciting growth opportunities ahead for Greg and Wencor under Warburg Pincus’ ownership, and we wish them the best,” said Bill Hopkins, a Managing Principal and Co-President of Odyssey Investment Partners.
Odyssey Investment Partners is a middle-market private equity firm with more than $3 billion under management. Odyssey makes control investments primarily in established middle-market companies in a variety of industries, including industrial manufacturing; business, financial and healthcare services; aerospace products; and localized and route-based service businesses. The firm has offices in New York and Woodland Hills, CA (www.odysseyinvestment.com).
“We are very pleased to partner with Greg and the Wencor management team and believe there is significant opportunity to build on Wencor’s success by developing new product and repair offerings. Wencor offers airline and MRO customers a compelling source for aftermarket components and repairs and we look forward to working with the management team to pursue organic and acquisition growth initiatives,” said Dan Zamlong, Managing Director at Warburg Pincus.
Warburg Pincus has more than $35 billion in assets under management and has raised 13 private equity funds which have invested more than $48 billion in approximately 700 companies in 35 countries. The firm was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Port Louis, Mumbai, San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Shanghai (www.warburgpincus.com).
Harris Williams & Co. acted as financial advisors to Wencor. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisors to Warburg Pincus.
© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-22-14
