NEW YORK – May 1, 2018 – Seabury Capital LLC (“Seabury Capital”) announced that its Aerospace & Defense M&A Advisory team has successfully advised on the sale of Tallinn, Estonia-headquartered Magnetic MRO (“Magnetic”), a full-service aircraft maintenance provider, to Guangzhou Hangxin Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. (300424.SZ) (“Hangxin”), at an enterprise value of over USD 61 million.
Led by Managing Director Antares Reis, the London-based Aerospace & Defense M&A advisory team partnered with Superia Corporate Finance’s Estonian team to advise and assist Magnetic and its majority shareholder BaltCap on the divestment process.
“Magnetic’s successful cross-border sale to Hangxin demonstrates once more Seabury’s unique expertise as an aerospace industry adviser,” commented Global Head of Seabury Investment Banking Patrick Henry Dowling. “Our team’s unparalleled track record in the MRO space provided our client with invaluable industry insights and clear guidance on how to manage the process. This is a great outcome for Magnetic’s shareholders and an excellent European acquisition for Hangxin.”
Risto Mäeots, Magnetic CEO, added: “Through their hard-work, professionalism and good humor, Seabury and Superia have earned my deepest thanks. They provided critical guidance throughout the process, correctly identifying the innovative nature of our business model. More importantly, they were able to articulate and present it in a way that allowed buyers to understand our true value. Under their counsel, we always felt assured that we would achieve the best possible outcome and I am delighted to have the opportunity to develop Magnetic’s unique positioning under Hangxin’s leadership.”
“Seabury demonstrated its in-depth understanding of the MRO and aircraft parts trading markets by immediately identifying the uniqueness of Magnetic’s business model as an aviation aftermarket total technical care provider,” commented Kristjan Kalda, partner at BaltCap. “Antares successfully positioned the company as a high-value asset, using his knowledge and relationships within the aerospace buyer community to garner strong interest. His team worked seamlessly with Superia to manage the project, combining industry expertise with superior local knowledge and first-class execution skills. Both teams’ superb attention to detail and their highly disciplined approach kept Magnetic’s team on the right track, allowed us to anticipate potential issues ahead of time and kept the project moving forward. The result has been an outstanding success for the shareholders, making it our largest exit to date, whilst providing Magnetic with an owner that understands and appreciates its unique business model.”
Magnetic (www.magneticmro.com) is an EASA- and FAA-certified MRO providing total technical care and comprehensive aviation asset management services to a broad range of European clients. The company has a well-established reputation in offering innovative solutions across a wide range of MRO services and a proven track record as a one-stop, total technical care provider for airlines, asset owners, OEMs and operators. In 2017, Magnetic won Estonia’s prestigious ‘Company of the Year’ and ‘Exporter of the Year’ awards.
Operating from a base in Guangzhou, China, Hangxin (www.hangxin.com) provides aircraft component maintenance services for over twenty aircraft types and to over fifty airlines in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Hangxin is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (300424) with a market capitalization over EURO 700 million.
BaltCap (www.baltcap.com) is the largest buy-out, growth capital and infrastructure investor in the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). Since 1995, BaltCap has been managing several private equity funds with a total capital of over EUR 400 million.