Leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has emerged as the buyer of the London Gatwick fiight training and simulation operation, picked up by Raytheon as part of its Hughes acquisition at the end of last year. In another deal related to its post-merger reorganisation, Raytheon will also acquire AlliedSignal's defence communications unit.
The flight training business, which was originally established as a British Caledonian unit at Gatwick, did not fit with Raytheon's core operations in defence electronics. FlightSafety Boeing was also interested but dropped out of the running earlier.
GECAS, which is understood to have paid around $69 million for the business, says that it is keen to diversify the range of services it offers to its leasing customers, pointing to last year's acquisition of the Dallas-based SimuFlite Training International operation by its US business aviation arm.
Meanwhile, Raytheon will strengthen its command, control and communications division with the acquisition of the AlliedSignal unit, which produces identification friend or foe system as well as civil and military air traffic systems, including the Precision Runway Monitor.
The deal, which is valued at $63 million, will add annual sales of around $122 million to the Raytheon business. AlliedSignal says that it did not consider secure military communications a core business and put the unit on the auction block in January.
Both deals are expected to go through in the third quarter.
Source: Flight International
