
KKR funds $22m Air Works bolt-on
KKR has provided Air Works India Engineering with INR1.2 billion ($22 million) of structured debt financing to help fund its acquisition of Dubai-based private aviation specialist Empire Aviation Group (EAG).
Air Works also used internal accruals to finance the bolt-on, which is designed to increase its footprint in the Middle East and provide superior aircraft management services to its customers in India.
Founded in 2007 by the existing management team, Paras Dhamecha and Steve Hartley, EAG is a one-stop shop for integrated private aviation services, offering aircraft sales, aircraft management, aircraft charter, and aircraft finance and insurance. The company has more than 100 staff.
"We warmly welcome this partnership with Air Works - one of the leading companies in India's rapidly developing private aviation sector - which will help facilitate our entry into India and allow us to exploit more fully the Indian market opportunity by replicating the full portfolio of aviation services for India that we have successfully developed for the Middle East," said Dhamecha.
Last year, Air Works sold a 4.8% stake in itself to AIM-listed Elephant Capital for GBP2.45 million ($3.93 million). Elephant Capital's Mauritian subsidiary, Tusk Investments Fund 1, provided the capital except for GBP440,000 ($700,000), which was funded by Elephant Capital's co-investment vehicle.
Founded in 1951, Air Works claims to be the first local company to have provided aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services in India and aircraft paint and refinishing services in the UK.
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