LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. buyout fund Warburg Pincus said on Monday that it had clinched a deal to sell its European airline services firm Accelya to rival private equity fund Vista Equity Partners for an undisclosed amount.
The deal, which was first reported by Reuters, allows Warburg Pincus to fully cash out after backing the Barcelona-based company for the past two years.
The U.S. investment firm launched an auction process during the summer to find a new owner for the business which serves more than 200 airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa and EasyJet.
Warburg Pincus bought Accelya from French private equity firm Chequers Capital in 2017 and quickly tripled its revenues by merging it with Mercator, a Dubai-based travel services group in which the U.S. buyout firm had been an investor since 2014.
Vista Partners, whose portfolio is mostly focused on software companies, was recently vying to buy a majority stake in WPP’s (WPP) data analytics firm Kantar but lost it to Bain Capital.
Its Chief Executive Robert Smith said Accelya was “at the forefront of innovation and positioned to shape the airline and travel industry for decades to come.”
Accelya employs 2,500 employees across 24 offices in 14 countries and recently signed a long-term deal as the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) technology partner.
Bank of America (BAC) and Evercore advised Warburg Pincus on the deal while Vista hired Goldman Sachs (GS) and Houlihan Lokey to work on the purchase.
Law firm Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher served as the legal advisors to Warburg Pincus and Vista, respectively.
Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Susan Fenton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Southwest Airlines Co <LUV> said Monday it will complete inspections on 38 737 airplanes it acquired from foreign air carriers by Jan. 31 that may not meet all U.S. aviation safety requirements.
The planes are part of 88 pre-owned Boeing <BA> 737 aircraft Southwest bought between 2013 and 2017 from 16 foreign carriers. The speedier checks come after inspections of 39 used planes turned up previously undisclosed repairs and incorrectly completed fixes. Southwest used multiple contractors to conduct the reviews of the planes’ maintenance records when they bought the planes.
“We have a plan in place to inspect the 47 remaining aircraft, nine of which are currently in heavy checks, no later than January 31, 2020 – five months earlier than the original FAA accepted completion date of July 1,” Southwest said in a statement on Monday.
Southwest said its inspections to date “did not stem from any suspected safety concerns with the aircraft.” It added its “continuous assessment of the ongoing inspections has revealed nothing to warrant the expedited timeline” but will meet it nevertheless.
In 2018, Southwest agreed to conduct a complete physical inspection on each of these pre-owned aircraft over a two-year period after a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector in May 2018 discovered discrepancies in records for some of 88 aircraft.
Since then, Southwest said it has completed the nose-to-tail inspection of 41 aircraft without any findings that suggested an “adverse impact on continued safe operation.”
An Oct. 24 memo from H. Clayton Foushee, director of the FAA Audit and Evaluation Office, made public on Monday said the Southwest inspections turned up at least 30 previously unknown repairs and 42 major repairs that were found “not to meet FAA airworthiness requirements.” Some required “immediate corrective action to bring the aircraft back into compliance.”
The memo added “the data collected to date would indicate that a majority of” the planes to be inspected do not meet FAA airworthiness requirements.
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee noted on Monday that the 2018 discovery prompted a full records review by Southwest Airlines of all 88 aircraft that found 360 major repairs previously unknown to the airline because they were not disclosed in the contractors’ initial review.
Foushee’s memo said Southwest grounded 34 planes in November 2018 for inspections. The committee said as a result some planes were grounded “for immediate maintenance to bring them into regulatory compliance as a result of these newly discovered prior major repairs.”
The FAA then sent an Oct. 29 letter to Southwest seeking additional information about the uninspected planes and questioned whether they suffered specific damage items. It also raised concerns about Southwest’s “slow pace in completing the evaluation of aircraft.”
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker said in an Oct. 30 letter to the FAA that its concerns about Southwest’s used planes correspond “to concerns that have been brought to my attention by whistleblowers as part of my investigation into aviation safety.”
The committee said the FAA allowed Southwest to continue to operate these aircraft and as a result “Southwest Airlines appears to have operated aircraft in unknown airworthiness conditions for thousands of flights.”
The FAA said Monday that after receiving Southwest’s response it determined the airline has “met the requirements for immediate inspection and risk assessments on these aircraft.”
The FAA added it “is requiring more frequent updates on the progress of completing all the requirements.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
FILE PHOTO: A number of grounded Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are shown parked at Victorville Airport in Victorville, California
Paris, France, June 18, 2019 – Embraer announced today, at the 53rd International Paris Air Show, that it has signed a contract with Japan’s Fuji Dream Airlines (FDA) for a firm order of two E175 jets. The order has a value of USD 97.2 million, based on 2019 list prices, and was already included in Embraer’s 2019 first-quarter backlog as “undisclosed.”
“We are extremely pleased to continuously grow our fleet and our relationship with Embraer,” said Yohei Suzuki, Chairman and CEO of Fuji Dream Airlines. “FDA currently operates 14 aircraft – three E170s and eleven E175s. These new aircraft will give us the ability to grow our capacity, allowing us to add more routes and frequencies, while also offering our passengers the best cabin in its category.”
FDA’s new E175s will be configured in a single-class layout with 84 seats, with deliveries starting in 2019. Embraer delivered the first E-Jet, an E170, to Fuji Dream Airlines in 2009.
“After nearly 10 years of operations, Fuji Dream Airlines has established itself as an exemplary model for sustainable growth with the support of the E175’s unrivaled attributes underpinning the success of their continued network expansion with new point-to-point services,” said Cesar Pereira, Asia Pacific Vice President, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “As a testament to Embraer’s merits, there will be a total of 48 E-Jets flying in Japan by the end of 2019. Of which, FDA’s all-Embraer fleet of 14 aircraft represents the largest of its kind in Asia and has a world leading 99.83% dispatch reliability – yet another example of how Embraer’s products and customer support have been setting new standards in the industry.”
The E175 is the best seller of the E-Jets family with more than 770 orders from airlines and lessors around the world. Since January 2013, Embraer has sold more than 565 E175s to airlines in North America alone, earning more than 80% of all orders in the 70-76-seat jet segment.
FDA and Embraer have also signed an extension of the Pool Program to cover its fleet of E170s and E175s, including these new orders. The program includes the advance exchange and repair management for more than 300 essential line replacement units of the aircraft.
Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers from all over the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleet of 75 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline carriers.
May 7, 2019 – Montréal Bombardier Inc., Business Aircraft, Press Release
Value of Learjet 75 transaction an estimated US$69 million based on 2019 list prices
Learjet 75 aircraft features the quietest and most private cabin in its class, an eight-seat double club configuration, a smooth ride and the only flat floor in the light jet category
Bombardier’s Learjet fleet recently celebrated 25 million flight hours
Bombardier today announced that an undisclosed customer has purchased five industry-defining Learjet 75 aircraft. The transaction is valued at approximately US$69 million dollars based on 2019 list prices.
Today’s announcement follows the landmark achievement Bombardier’s fleet of trailblazing Learjet aircraft set earlier in 2019, when the fleet surpassed the 25 million flight-hour mark, adding yet another accomplishment to an impressive string of Learjet milestones and firsts. The first Learjet business aircraft entered service in 1964, creating the experience and defining the industry of private flight.
“The ultimate business tool, Learjet 75 aircraft feature industry-leading performance and help drive direct bottom line results,” Peter Likoray, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “Reliability and longevity are just two of the reasons customers among Fortune 500 companies continue to choose Learjet aircraft for productivity gains. With its bevy of recent enhancements, the Learjet 75 aircraft is a superior business jet offering in terms of size, performance and reliability, all at highly competitive operating cost.”
Bombardier continues to invest in this industry-leading light business jet, with its recently-released comprehensive Garmin G5000 avionics upgrade, which will allow customers to optimize their routes and paves the way for future technological enhancements. The upgrade will be offered as forward and retrofit for in-service Learjet aircraft. Bombardier also recently announced that Learjet 75 aircraft operators now benefit from lengthened intervals between recurring major powerplant inspections, which have been extended from 3,000 to 3,500 engine hours.
Renowned worldwide for its sleek ramp appeal and favoured by pilots for its impressive handling characteristics and high-performance, the Learjet 75 is the only business jet in its class to feature an eight-seat double-club configuration, a flat floor throughout the cabin and a pocket door for reduced noise levels.
Since acquiring the Learjet Corporation in 1990, Bombardier has introduced an impressive eight new models, including the best-selling Learjet 75 aircraft, which entered service in 2013.
About Bombardier
With over 68,000 employees across four business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety.
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in 28 countries across the segments of Transportation, Business Aircraft, Commercial Aircraft and Aerostructures and Engineering Services. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, Bombardier posted revenues of $16.2 billion US. The company is recognized on the 2019 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World Index. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.
