Vance Street Capital has sold International Aerospace Coatings and Eirtech Aviation Services (together IAC Group) to Tiger Infrastructure Partners.
International Aerospace Coatings (IAC) was formed by Vance Street in 2014 to consolidate its Fund I investments in Leading Edge Aviation Services (acquired in 2012), Associated Painters (acquired in 2013), and Eirtech Aviation (acquired in 2014). In 2019, through its second fund, Vance Street acquired Eirtech Aviation Services (EAS) – a distinct but related business to Eirtech Aviation – as a new platform investment.
Today, Irvine, California-headquartered IAC is a provider of aircraft painting, interiors, and graphics to OEM, commercial, military, and general aviation companies; and Shannon, Ireland-headquartered EAS is a specialist aviation services company providing painting, interior refinishing, and graphics to international airlines, private operators and aviation leasing companies predominantly in Europe and the Middle East.
In total, IAC Group has more than 650,000 sq. ft. of climate-controlled paint hangars across 11 facilities across the US and Europe and has capacity for 36 lines of aircraft and processes more than 1,000 paint events per year.
“Vance Street’s commitment to our long-term success has been evidenced by the substantial investments they have made in our facilities, capabilities, and employees,” said Niall Cunningham, the founder of IAC and EAS. “Vance Street partnership has positioned us well for continued future growth with Tiger Infrastructure Partners.”
“Our investments in IAC and EAS are another great example of Vance Street’s investment thesis around transforming unique, founder-owned businesses into strategic assets,” said Nic Janneck, a partner at Vance Street. “From the outset of our involvement in IAC, we were focused on executing our roadmap and delivering financial, operational, and strategic support to management to create a leader in the global aftermarket aviation services market.”
Los Angeles-based Vance Street makes control investments in North American-based companies with enterprise values of $30 million to $350 million and EBITDA of $3 million to $30 million. Sectors of interest include medical technology, life sciences, industrial technology, and aerospace & defense. More than 90% of Vance Street’s acquisitions are founder-owned businesses or corporate carve-outs.
“We are proud to have played a role in the impressive growth trajectory these businesses have experienced under our ownership,” said Brian Martin, a managing partner at Vance Street. “We want to thank the entire management team for their hard work and the significant role they played in transforming the company into the industry leader it is today.”
In December 2021, Vance Street held a final closing of Vance Street Capital III LP with $432.5 million in commitments, exceeding its target of $375 million. The firm’s earlier fund closed in 2017 with $250 million in capital. Since its founding in 2007, Vance Street has raised $1 billion of committed capital.
Tiger Infrastructure Partners makes control equity investments of $50 million to $150 million in North America and Europe-based middle-market infrastructure companies with a specific interest in digital infrastructure, energy transition and transportation sectors. Tiger has offices in New York City and London.
Jefferies was the financial advisor to IAC Group and Vance Street on this transaction, and Harris Williams was the financial advisor to Tiger Infrastructure Partners.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | December 8, 2022
