Private equity’s advance into the aircraft aftermarket has continued with an investment by Miami-based HIG Capital into STS Aviation Group.
The Florida-headquartered maintenance provider operates four aircraft hangars, two aircraft interior modification centers, and more than 45 line maintenance stations across North America and the UK, where it has hangar facilities in Manchester, Birmingham and Newquay.
Operations at Newquay included the modification of Easyjet’s fleet with FOMAX units to link up with Airbus’ Skywise aircraft data and health monitoring platform.
The company specializes in aircraft base and line maintenance, aircraft interior solutions, aerospace engineering, aircraft repairs and modifications, parts sales, global distribution, and workforce management.
Its customers include airlines, lessors, and military organizations.
P.J. Anson, CEO of STS Aviation, said that HIG’s resources behind it, the company is “positioned to accelerate our growth strategy, expand our global reach, enhance our service offerings, and pursue new acquisitions”.
HIG’s “significant” equity investment in STS follows that of Bain Capital earlier this year, when it took a minority stake in another maintenance provider, MRO Holdings.
Like Bain, HIG Capital’s portfolio already includes some aviation holdings, including Amerijet International and private jet specialist Flight Options.
There has also been interest in the aftermarket from giant investment firm Apollo Global, which in July 2023 made a second investment into Air France-KLM’s maintenance and spares inventory.
After investing €500 million into the airline’s spare engines in 2022, last year Apollo put another €500 million into an Air France affiliate owning a pool of components.
