GE Aerospace to Buy CPP from Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners

GE Aerospace has agreed to acquire Consolidated Precision Products (CPP), a maker of the metal castings that form the structural and rotating parts of jet engines and airframes, from Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners at an enterprise value of $11.75 billion.

The sale ends a private equity ownership period that began when Warburg Pincus acquired the business in 2011, and puts CPP in the hands of a customer that has been buying its castings for more than 15 years. For GE Aerospace, the acquisition turns a long-standing supplier relationship into owned manufacturing capacity at a point in the supply chain that has constrained engine production.

Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) makes complex metal components for commercial and military aircraft, weapons systems, regional and business jets, helicopters and industrial gas turbines. Its products include airfoils — the rotating and stationary blades inside a jet engine’s hot section — along with structural castings for airframes and engine cases.

CPP produces the parts by pouring molten metal into ceramic and sand molds, a process used for components that would be difficult or impossible to machine from solid stock. The company also makes precision sand castings and the ceramic cores and wax tooling used in the casting process. Materials include superalloys, titanium, aluminum, magnesium and steel.

The airfoils are among the more demanding products. They operate at temperatures approaching the melting point of the alloys from which they are made and are cooled by air moving through tiny internal passages. Those passages are formed with ceramic cores that are removed after the metal is poured, which is why CPP’s core and wax technology can be every bit as important as the casting itself.

“Investing in mission-critical casting capacity is needed to support the strong simultaneous demand across commercial engines, aftermarket and defense,” said H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., the chairman and chief executive officer of GE Aerospace. “By combining GE Aerospace’s technology capabilities and FLIGHT DECK with CPP’s manufacturing experience, we expect to expand capacity, improve performance and accelerate new engine technologies for the current fleet and next-generation platforms.”

CPP was founded in 1991 and employs approximately 6,600 people across more than 20 facilities in the United States, Belgium, Poland, Slovakia and Mexico, with US operations concentrated in Ohio, California, Oregon, Minnesota, Massachusetts and New York. CPP is led by CEO James Stewart.

“GE Aerospace has been a great partner to CPP for many years, and we are excited to further strengthen this long-standing relationship,” said Mr. Stewart. “As we advance our position as an industry leader in castings, GE Aerospace has expressed strong enthusiasm for supporting our continued growth and expanded vision. Together, we look forward to delivering meaningful value and advancing the success of both organizations.”

CPP has passed through three private equity owners. Arlington Capital Partners acquired the business in 2008 and agreed to sell it to Warburg Pincus in September 2011, by which point CPP had 11 facilities in three countries and supplied Boeing, Airbus and General Electric on programs including the 787, the 737 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Warburg Pincus held it alone until June 2019, when Berkshire Partners joined through a recapitalization in which Warburg remained a financial partner. Across the two ownerships the facility count roughly doubled to more than 20.

GE Aerospace will fund the $11.75 billion purchase price for CPP with $7 billion in cash and the balance in debt. The purchase price values CPP at about 18x expected 2027 EBITDA including anticipated net cost savings, and about 26 times without them.

The global investment casting market was worth $18 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach $29 billion by 2033, a compound annual rate of 5.4%, according to Grand View Research, which puts aerospace and defense at more than 45% of demand. Capacity rather than orders has been the binding constraint: engine makers have not been able to lift output as fast as airlines want deliveries, and castings are among the slowest links to expand, because a new foundry line takes years to qualify against customer and regulatory standards.

The sector is concentrated. Howmet Aerospace, a Pittsburgh company spun out of Arconic in 2020, is the principal independent producer of aerospace castings and forgings. Precision Castparts, founded in 1949 and based in Portland, Oregon, has been wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway since 2016. Below those two the market thins quickly into regional foundries, which is part of why an engine maker would choose to own capacity rather than contract for it.

“We are incredibly proud of the platform we have built in partnership with Berkshire Partners and CPP’s talented management team,” said Dan Zamlong, a managing director at Warburg Pincus. “CPP has been transformed into a leading precision casting company in the industry, with significant investments in its operations, technology, quality systems and talent, while expanding its ability to support customers across the commercial aerospace, defense, and power generation markets.”

Warburg Pincus has more than $105 billion in assets under management and more than 225 companies in its active portfolio. A private partnership since 1966, the firm has invested in more than 1,100 companies, and its aerospace and defense holdings have included CAMP Systems, Extant Aerospace, TransDigm, TRIUMPH and Wencor Group. Warburg Pincus is headquartered in New York with more than 15 offices globally.

Boston-headquartered Berkshire Partners invests in North American middle-market companies across services, healthcare, industrials and technology. The firm is investing from its $7.8 billion Fund XI and has made more than 140 private equity investments since its founding in 1986.

“Berkshire Partners is grateful to have partnered with CPP’s management team and Warburg Pincus during a critical chapter of the company’s growth,” said Blake Gottesman, a managing director at Berkshire. “Together, we have strengthened CPP’s leadership in the castings industry, and we are excited for the company’s continued success as part of GE Aerospace.”

Evercore and PJT Partners were the financial advisors to GE Aerospace. Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Securities were the financial advisors to CPP.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2027.