The Sterling Group (Sterling), an operationally-focused middle market private equity firm, has acquired West Star Aviation (West Star) from Norwest Equity Partners. West Star is a provider of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services to the business aviation industry providing maintenance, modification, and other services to aviation customers.
West Star provides services at four primary locations in East Alton, Illinois; Grand Junction, Colorado; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Perryville, Missouri, as well as fifteen mobile repair bases and satellite MRO facilities. West Star also provides parts distribution and composite repair services through its Avant and DAS businesses respectively.
Sterling previously partnered with entrepreneur owners to build Lynx, an FBO Network. Greg Elliott, a Partner at The Sterling Group, has been involved in building several business aviation platforms in the past twenty years, including as either Chairman or Board Member of Lynx, Encore, Trajen, and Landmark Aviation.
"We believe that our experience coupled with West Star's industry-leading customer service capabilities will make us a powerful combination," said Greg Elliott, Partner at The Sterling Group. "Jim Rankin has built a stellar leadership team, and we are eager to help accelerate their growth plans."
"Sterling's employee-focused approach to their business partnerships and their expertise in the general aviation space makes them the perfect fit for West Star," said Jim Rankin, CEO of West Star Aviation. "As we enter our 75th year, the combined efforts of our experienced employees, our founders, and now the Sterling team, will allow West Star to continue to offer the best customer experience in the industry," Rankin continued.
Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advised West Star on its sale to The Sterling Group (Sterling). The transaction was led by Chris Rogers, Doug Kinard, David Jones, Evan Clark and Kevin Winton of the Harris Williams Aerospace, Defense & Government Services (ADG) Group.
“It was a pleasure working with the West Star and NEP teams on this transaction,” said Doug Kinard, a managing director at Harris Williams. “This is the second time we have worked with West Star, and it has been impressive to watch the company more than double in size under NEP’s ownership and firmly establish itself as the go-to provider of MRO services for every major airframe type in business aviation.”
“West Star represents another marquee transaction for Harris Williams in the business aviation sector,” added Chris Rogers, a managing director at Harris Williams. “From leading FBOs and maintenance providers, to supply chain management and distribution businesses, we have seen firsthand how strong investor interest is in this sector. We expect business aviation to continue to be an active sector for M&A in the foreseeable future.”
Winston & Strawn served as lead legal advisor.