Tiger Infrastructure Partners has acquired aircraft painting and interior refurbishment services provider International Aerospace Coatings (IAC) for its third mid-market fund.
The manager has invested an undisclosed sum on behalf of the $1.25bn Tiger Infrastructure Partners Fund III fund to buy IAC from private equity firm Vance Street Capital and IAC’s executive chairman Niall Cunningham.
IAC’s core business involves aircraft painting, aviation technical services, aircraft interior refurbishment and aircraft graphic solutions.
IAC utilises 18 hangars located at seven airports and two customer sites in the US and Europe to provide services to a customer base in the global aviation industry, including aircraft manufacturers, commercial airlines, aircraft leasing companies, air cargo carriers and governments.
Emil W Henry Jr, CEO of Tiger Infrastructure, said: “As a growth-oriented infrastructure investor, we were attracted to IAC because of its compelling growth prospects, leading market position, substantial asset base and long-term relationships that provide barriers to entry, and stable, reoccurring revenues from providing essential services.
“With operations in both the United States and Europe, IAC aligns well with Tiger’s trans-Atlantic footprint and execution capabilities, which are a source of competitive advantage for us in the middle market.”
IAC is the seventh platform investment for the Tiger Infrastructure Partners Fund III fund.
Martin O’Connell, CEO of IAC, said: “We are excited to partner with Tiger for IAC’s next chapter of growth. We expect a combination of aviation industry tailwinds to drive demand growth for aircraft painting, and in partnership with Tiger, we aim to open new facilities and expand our capacity substantially in the years to come.
“By 2027, we anticipate the industry will have a significant shortfall in serving capacity versus annual demand.”
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