Lone Star Closes Acquisition of Alliance Ground International

Lone Star Funds has closed its acquisition of Alliance Ground International from Audax Private Equity and Greenbriar Equity Group.

Alliance Ground International (AGI) provides aviation handling services, including cargo, ground, mail handling, security, and hospitality services for airlines and airport operators. The company supports operations across more than 60 airports in the United States and Canada. Miami-headquartered AGI, led by CEO Jared Azcuy, was founded in 1987 and employs more than 13,000 workers.

“Today marks an important next step for AGI as we move forward in partnership with Lone Star,” said Mr. Azcuy. “Our commitment to safety, reliability, and operational service excellence remains unchanged. This partnership strengthens our ability to deliver for our airline partners and reinforces that the platform we’ve built is not only proven but positioned to lead the next phase of growth in our industry.”

Audax and Greenbriar acquired AGI in June 2021 from Littlejohn & Co. and Harren Equity Partners. During their ownership term, AGI closed four add-on acquisitions, including Maestro International Cargo (MIC Cargo) in October 2021, adding a major cargo handling and warehouse platform at Chicago O’Hare, followed by the May 2022 acquisition of Total Airport Services, a passenger and cargo handling provider operating across eight U.S. airports. In August 2022, AGI acquired Airport Terminal Services, a ground handling operator with a large North American presence, along with one additional undisclosed add-on completed during the same investment period.

“Audax and Greenbriar contributed more than just capital to their investment in AGI,” added Mr. Azcuy. “They brought deep industry experience, a breadth of resources to pursue our vision for growth, and a collaborative approach that enabled us to achieve the financial and operational goals we established at the onset of our partnership.”

“We are excited to partner with the AGI management team to drive the business forward,” said Donald Quintin, chief executive officer of Lone Star. “The company has a superior service offering and a track record of success across its integrated operations. We see opportunities to continue to invest in the business and its people to continue to grow its capabilities and ensure it remains best-in-class in delivering for the aviation industry.”

Dallas-headquartered Lone Star invests in private equity, credit, and real estate opportunities with a specific interest in undervalued or underperforming assets. Since raising its first fund in 1995, the firm has organized 26 private equity funds with aggregate capital commitments totaling over $95 billion.

“We want to thank the AGI team and Greenbriar for what we consider to be a very successful partnership, marked by strong top- and bottom-line growth, and a tremendous outcome for AGI, the management team, and our investors,” said David Wong, partner at Audax Private Equity.

Audax is a middle-market private equity firm headquartered in Boston with offices in San Francisco, New York, London, and Hong Kong. Founded in 1999, the firm manages approximately $19.5 billion in assets and has invested in more than 180 platform companies and completed more than 1,400 add-on acquisitions.

“We think this investment demonstrates the positive impact of a management team aligned to drive growth, investors with deep domain expertise, and a collective commitment to investing in operations and talent to drive accelerated growth,” said Noah Roy, managing partner at Greenbriar Equity Group. “We believe AGI is well positioned to build on its recent momentum and we look forward to watching the company continue on its growth trajectory as AGI embarks on its next chapter.”

Greenbriar is an active investor in the supply chain, business services, and advanced manufacturing sectors. In January 2023, Greenbriar held an oversubscribed, above-target, and hard-cap close of its sixth investment fund, Greenbriar Equity Fund VI LP, with total capital commitments of more than $3.4 billion. This new fund is the largest fund raised by Greenbriar. Since its founding in 1999, the Rye, New York-headquartered firm has raised over $10 billion in capital commitments across its six funds.

BofA Securities was the lead financial advisor to Audax and Greenbriar, and Evercore was the financial advisor to Lone Star.