AE Industrial Partners (AEI) has acquired Moeller Aerospace. The buy of Moeller Aerospace is AEI’s fourth platform investment for its first fund, AE Industrials Partners Fund I, which closed in April 2016 with $680 million in commitments.
Moeller Aerospace specializes in the machining of complex hot- and cold-section turbine hardware that are used in major aerospace engine programs. Products include small items such as bladelocks, brackets, blades, vanes, housings and manifolds. The company specializes in the machining of titanium-aluminide (an inter-metallic compound that is lightweight and resistance to oxidation and corrosion at high operating temperatures). Moeller Aerospace has approximately 600 employees and 215,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing capacity in three facilities – two near Detroit in Wixom, MI and the other in the northern Michigan city of Harbor Springs. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Wixom, MI (www.moeller-aerospace.com).
“AEI has an extensive, successful track record in our key target markets of aerospace, power generation and specialty manufacturing,” said Kevin Atkinson, President of Moeller Aerospace. “There’s no doubt that with the infusion of AEI’s expertise, connections and capital, our company will have significant new business potential to develop and realize.”
AEI invests in the aerospace, power generation and specialty industrial sectors with a specific focus on technical manufacturing, distribution and supply chain management, MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) and industrial service-based businesses. Typical company targets will have from $50 million to $500 million of revenue. AEI is headquartered in Boca Raton (www.aeroequity.com).
“Moeller Aerospace is virtually unique in its products, technology, and reputation,” said Michael Greene, Managing Partner of AEI. “The company is a proven innovator in developing new products and processes that support the development and production of turbine engines for their key OEM customers, and has the potential to expand this expertise across its target markets.”
Kirkland & Ellis (www.kirkland.com) was the legal advisor to AEI and PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com) was the firm’s financial advisor.
Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn (www.honigman.com) was the legal advisor to Moeller Aerospace and P&M Corporate Finance (www.pmcf.com) was the company’s financial advisor.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 7-13-16
