Aircraft legacy aerospace manufacturer sale completes to private equity

By Nicky Godding

4 November 2019

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The sale of Cheltenham-based Ontic, a leading provider of high-quality, original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-licensed parts for legacy aerospace platforms by its parent company BBA Aviation plc, to private equity company CVC Capital Partner’s CVC Fund Vll, has been completed for $1,365 million (£1121.49 million).

Ontic was acquired by BBA in February 2006 for $67 million and has grown successfully through the acquisition of licences, organic and inorganic growth, and investment. This success has been based on partner relationships with key aviation original equipment manufacturers. It now supports more than 39,000 legacy aircraft, through its portfolio of over 165 licences for more than 7,000 parts and over 1,200 customers worldwide.

Gareth Hall, CEO of Ontic, said “We are thankful for all of the support we received from BBA Aviation and we are looking forward to our continued success and future growth with CVC. This is an exciting time for our business, to move forward as an independent organisation, with a strong new financial partner as owner, and the opportunity to do so much more with our OEM partners.”

James Mahoney, Senior Managing Director, CVC Capital Partners, said: “Ontic is a growing, highly resilient business and a leading player in what we believe to be a very attractive market. We see multiple opportunities to develop the business further and look forward to working closely with Ontic’s excellent management team to take the company to the next level.”

Ontic has manufacturing bases in Cheltenham, the USA and Singapore. Site Director for the Cheltenham facility is Matthew Pritchard who took over in the role in January 2016. Prior to this position, he served as Ontic’s Head of Contracts and Customer Services. Matthew joined the Ontic team in February 2013 after holding various roles in the aerospace marketplace at GE Aviation Systems, Hamilton Sundstrand and Airbus.

In February this year Ontic announced it had signed an exclusive license agreement with a UK based OEM for Engine Pressure Transmitters, Fuel Flow Transmitters and Fluid Monitoring Chip Detectors.

Ontic has more than 45 years of aerospace product manufacturing and aftermarket support experience. Ontic provides OEM support, including new and serviceable spares and repairs for more than 6,500 maturing and legacy aircraft parts. Its portfolio of products, licensed or acquired from major OEMs such as Honeywell, UTC Aerospace, Safran, Thales and GE Aviation, span all major aircraft systems in both civil and military markets.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.