Aero Accessories & Repair, a provider of aerospace MRO services and a portfolio company of ATL Partners, has acquired Aero Instruments & Avionics.
Aero Instruments & Avionics (AIA) specializes in maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for avionics, electronics, electromechanical components, and indicators. The company’s customers include passenger airlines, logistics and cargo carriers, and aftermarket providers. Founded in 1968, AIA is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.
Aero Accessories & Repair (AAR) specializes in MRO services for complex aerospace components involved in fuel, hydraulic, pneumatic, and power generation. AAR services over 17,000 part numbers across more than 30 unique airframe engine platforms. Its expertise extends to various airframe components—fuselage, wings, stabilizers, and undercarriage—that are subject to tension, torsion, compression, and shear.
Led by CEO David Vail, AAR was founded in 2007 and operates from a 76,000 sq. ft. FAA and EASA-certified facility in Miramar, Florida.
Since acquiring Aero Accessories in May 2022, ATL Partners has facilitated the company’s growth through investments in its facilities and expansion of its technical services. The acquisition of AIA follows AAR’s acquisition in February 2024 of AOG Accessories, a Miami-based provider of MRO services for pneumatic, fuel, power generation, electromechanical, hydraulic, oxygen, and galley components to a range of commercial and regional aircraft.
“Since our acquisition by ATL Partners in 2022, we have been focused on deepening our relationships with key customers while adding new capabilities,” said Mr. Vail. “We continue executing our strategy to expand our technical capabilities and accelerate growth. The acquisition of Aero Instruments bolsters our position in the commercial aviation aftermarket and further improves our product and capabilities offerings while enhancing our customer relationships in the U.S. and internationally.”
“Since partnering with Aero Accessories in 2022, the management team has achieved well above average growth compared to the industry by focusing on its customer base and excellence in execution,” said Frank Nash, founder and managing member of ATL Partners. “We are excited by the opportunities provided by this acquisition, as most of Aero Instruments’ customers are also customers of Aero Accessories. Both companies’ strong growth-oriented cultures will enable a focus on providing a wider suite of products to the two companies’ customer bases.”
AAR’s expansion comes amid a broader trend in the MRO sector, as operators and airlines seek to optimize resources through partnerships with firms capable of handling diverse component repairs, especially those complex and increasingly difficult to source new. The MRO market, estimated to grow at an annual compound rate of about 4% over the coming decade, has been driven by an aging global aircraft fleet, rising air travel demand, and the need for regulatory compliance across commercial and defense aviation sectors. Consolidation is also a prevailing theme in the aerospace MRO services sector.
ATL Partners is a sector-focused private equity firm that invests in aerospace, transportation, and logistics companies. The firm has a minimum equity investment requirement of $75 million and a target equity investment range of $150 million to $750 million, supported by co-investment arrangements with its limited partners. ATL was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York City.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | November 5, 2024
