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Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation and global investment firm KKR have signed a definitive agreement for MIC to sell its Atlantic Aviation business to KKR for $4.475 billion in cash and assumed debt and reorganisation obligations. Atlantic Aviation operates one of the largest networks of FBOs in the US, providing a full suite of critical services to the private aviation sector.
The purchase price implies a multiple of Atlantic Aviation's 2019 Earnings Before Interest Taxes and Depreciation (EBITDA) of 16.2 times. MIC expects to receive $3.525 billion at closing following the reorganisation of MIC into a limited liability company, Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings LLC (MIH). The reorganisation was approved by MIC shareholders on May 6, 2021 and is expected be completed shortly before the closing of the Atlantic Aviation sale.
“We are proud of the robust growth Atlantic Aviation has achieved under our ownership, which resulted in strong interest from prospective buyers during the sale process,” says MIC CEO Christopher Frost. “We are pleased with the outcome of the sale process and the unlocking of additional value for MIC shareholders. In addition to the timely closing of a sale of Atlantic Aviation, our focus remains on successfully concluding the sale process for our MIC Hawaii business.”
“Atlantic Aviation has an outstanding reputation as a leading operator of critical aviation infrastructure across the US,” adds Dash Lane, partner at KKR. “With our focus on providing long-term capital to support the growth of high quality and resilient businesses, we are excited to invest alongside Atlantic's experienced team and strong existing platform, which we believe is well positioned to capitalise on multiple avenues of future growth.”
The sale of Atlantic Aviation is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to customary regulatory approvals and approval from MIC shareholders. KKR is making its investment in Atlantic Aviation primarily through its Global Infrastructure Investors and Core Investments strategies.
