Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering buys Timco from Owl Creek for $389m

Timco is one of the largest independent aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers in the US. It has more than 2,700 employees and has MRO facilities at its headquarters in North Carolina and at three other locations in the US, as well as providing line maintenance services at 16 airports.

The company posted a net income of $6 million in 2012 off revenues of $354 million, compared to a loss of $12 million the previous year. Net income came to $16 million and revenues $362 million for the 12 months ended June 2013.

Owl Creek and family investment office LJH, already majority shareholders in Timco, took the company private in 2006. Timco was loss-making at the time, having spent the previous few years restructuring debt and equity and divesting assets in order to deleverage its balance sheet.

HAECO comprises 18 subsidiaries and affiliates that employ over 14,000 staff in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore, where it carries out heavy maintenance work for more than 160 airlines globally. The company was founded in 1950 and initially provided services mainly to Cathay Pacific Airways and other airlines flying in and out of Hong Kong. Swire is also the largest shareholder in Cathay Pacific.

The acquisition allows HAECO to expand its presence globally in the MRO space.

"We believe that the business and operations of Timco will fit well strategically with the existing business of HAECO," Christopher Pratt, chairman of HAECO, said in a statement. "In combination, they will be able to offer enhanced aircraft maintenance and cabin modification services to a wider range of customers."

The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2014.

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• Topics
• Exits
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• Greater China
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