US aerospace supplier Triumph Group has agreed to be purchased by two private equity firms for about $2 billion, a deal that takes the publicly traded business back into private hands.
Triumph said on 3 February it had signed an agreement under which it would be purchased by affiliates of New York-based Warburg Pincus and Boston-based Berkshire Partners for $26 per share.
The companies say the agreement values Pennsylvania-based Triumph at about $3 billion, including the $2 billion purchase price and some $900 million in debt.
Triumph produces a variety of components for commercial, business and military aircraft, including flight-control cables, propeller and engine controls, brake components, landing gear systems and actuators.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which reflects the culmination of the board’s robust process and will deliver immediate, certain and premium cash value to our shareholders,” says Triumph chief executive Dan Crowley.
The companies expect the acquisition will close in the second half of this year, at which time “Triumph will become a privately held company, jointly controlled by Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners”.
The agreement requires approval by regulators and Triumph’s shareholders, its board of directors having already green-lit the proposal.
“Triumph has a strong reputation as a leader in highly engineered aerospace components and systems, and we are excited about partnering with them in this next chapter of growth,” says Warburg managing director Dan Zamlong.
Crowley says the aerospace company has “successfully optimised our portfolio” and that the planned acquisition “recognises our company’s position as a valued provider of mission-critical engineering systems and propriety components for both OEM and aftermarket customers”.
Triumph in recent years divested several major aerostructures manufacturing programmes, including its production of components for Gulfstream business jets and a site in Florida that produces structures for Boeing jets.
“This transaction recognises our company’s position as a value’s provider of mission-critical engineering systems and propriety components for both OEM and aftermarket customers,” Crowley says.
