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GE Aerospace will buy key castings supplier Consolidated Precision Products for almost $12 billion in a deal that GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp said will provide both greater supply stability and allow for new airfoil developments.
GE Aerospace announced early Sept. 8 it signed an agreement to acquire Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) from private investment firms Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners. The acquisition, which Culp said GE Aerospace has been “working on for a while,” is expected to close in the second half of 2027, assuming regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Culp said he does not expect antitrust barriers to closing the deal.
“We're excited for at least three reasons: One being just the opportunity to invest in a mission-critical commodity, casting, in terms of the capacity that's required to support the strong demand across commercial new-make, the aftermarket and defense into the 2030s,” Culp told Aviation Week in a brief premarket interview.
“But it's not just about delivering on today's capabilities,” he continued. “There's also a significant technology element here, and we think this combination is going to allow us to accelerate new engine technologies, both for the current fleet and for next-generation products, particularly with respect to airfoils.”
Culp said more information will come later regarding airfoils, but he told Aviation Week it was related to improving performance at higher temperatures.
CPP produces complex superalloy, titanium, aluminum, magnesium and steel castings for a variety of commercial and military aircraft, weapons systems, commercial and regional/business jets and helicopters, as well as industrial gas turbines. GE Aerospace has been a CPP customer for more than 15 years.
“GE Aerospace has been a great partner to CPP for many years, and we are excited to further strengthen this long-standing relationship,” CPP CEO James Stewart said in the announcement. “As we advance our position as an industry leader in castings, GE Aerospace has expressed strong enthusiasm for supporting our continued growth and expanded vision.”
The purchase price of $11.75 billion will be financed with $7 billion in cash from GE Aerospace, with the remainder coming from new debt issuance. The deal values Cleveland, Ohio-based CPP at about 18x 2027 pretax earnings, including expected net synergies, or around 26x without, according to a statement. But Culp said the acquisition is expected to be accretive to GE’s adjusted earnings per share and free cashflow in the first year of combination.
While there is no change to GE Aerospace’s overall capital allocation plans, Culp said GE Aerospace likely will spend hundreds of millions of dollars later in related capital expenditures as it integrates CPP.
GE Aerospace’s vertical integration of a key supplier comes as castings and forgings remain perhaps the greatest chokepoint for the aerospace and defense sector as practically every corner of industry is struggling to ramp up production for customers across the board. While not as large as rivals Howmet Aerospace and Precision Castparts, CPP is routinely shortlisted with those and other top suppliers and is well regarded for its technical abilities with large structures and difficult materials.
Warburg Pincus bought CPP from Arlington Capital Partners in 2011, reportedly for $459 million. In 2019, Berkshire Partners became a “co-majority” owner after buying a stake for an undisclosed amount. Along the way, CPP rolled up other providers such as Esco Turbine Technologies in 2012, two Polish facilities in 2016, Selmet in 2018, Pacific Cast Technologies and Poly6 Technologies in 2019, and Air Power Dynamics in 2024. CPP now counts roughly 6,600 workers across 20 facilities around the world.
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