Funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle announced "a definitive agreement" on March 6 to sell PrimeFlight Aviation Services to Capitol Meridian Partners and The Sterling Group.
PrimeFlight, a two-decade old Texas-based global provider of aircraft, passenger, and security-related services to commercial airline, airport, cargo, and general aviation customers, is to be run under a 50/50 partnership involving the two buyers.
Other terms of the deal were not disclosed. Latham & Watkins is serving as legal counsel to PrimeFlight and Carlyle, and Morgan Stanley and Jefferies served as financial advisors to PrimeFlight. McDermott Will & Emery is serving as legal counsel to Capitol Meridian Partners and The Sterling Group.
PrimeFlight's services are offered through subsidiaries, including PrimeFlight Cargo, PrimeFlight GSE Maintenance, Prime Appearance, ProFlo Industries, Skytanking, and Aviation Cleaning Supply, which between them have approximately 12,000 employees.
"The PrimeFlight team expertly navigated an unprecedented time in the commercial aerospace industry to deliver substantial growth. Over the course of our partnership, we completed 20 acquisitions to build a global aviation services platform," said Doug Brandely, managing director at Carlyle.
“We’re thankful to Carlyle for the tremendous support over the years,” said Dan Bucaro, PrimeFlight chief executive. “This is an exciting time for PrimeFlight as we have significantly expanded our operations outside of North America, continue to execute on new business wins, and we have a strong pipeline of continued growth through our global footprint," he added.
"PrimeFlight represents a unique opportunity to partner with a management team for a second time on the same platform," said Adam Palmer, partner and co-founder of Capitol Meridian Partners, while Greg Elliott, partner of The Sterling Group said "Dan and his team of industry veterans have built a tremendous platform for growth in PrimeFlight".