Simpson Thacher represented Inaer Aviation, the leading European provider of mission-critical helicopter services owned by private equity funds affiliated with Investindustrial and KKR, on its acquisition of Bond Aviation Group Limited (“Bond”), the UK’s largest independent emergency and mission-critical helicopter operator, for a total consideration of £259 million. The acquisition of Bond was funded by a combination of third-party debt financing and shareholder contributions and closed on 28 April 2011.
With the acquisition of Bond, Inaer Aviation has increased its fleet to over 360 aircraft and provides onshore and offshore helicopter services to the emergency services, police and oil and gas operators. Inaer is the leading European provider of mission-critical helicopter services with a presence in Australia, Chile, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and UK. Its mission-critical services include emergency medical services, firefighting, search and rescue, civil protection and surveillance.
The Simpson Thacher team for the transaction included Clare Gaskell, Jason Ewart and Sam Taylor (M&A), Kate Sinclair, Shahpur Kabraji and Richard Rees (Credit) and Meredith Jones (Tax).