TransDigm Group [TDG] last Friday said it has agreed to acquire AmSafe Global Holdings for $750 million in cash, giving it more products that are installed on passenger jets as well as military aircraft.
The deal is expected to close by the end of March pending regulatory approval. TransDigm is buying AmSafe from a group controlled by Berkshire Partners LLC and Greenbriar Equity Group LLC with financing being done through a combination of new bank debt and cash.
Arizona-based AmSafe makes passenger seatbelts and airbags that are used on most of the world’s airlines and it makes passenger, crew and cargo restraint equipment for various military aircraft and ground systems. The company also makes protective shields used on military vehicles to guard against rocket propelled grenades.
AmSafe had $260 million in sales last year, with about 70 percent of the sales coming from the commercial aerospace market, about 20 percent from the commercial ground vehicle market and less than 10 percent from the defense market. About 65 percent of total sales come from the aftermarket, mainly commercial transport aircraft.
“This is another sizable acquisition opportunity that meets our strategic, operational and value-creation criteria,” W. Nicholas Howley, TransDigm’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Most of AmSafe’s revenues come from highly engineered, proprietary aerospace product with substantial and growing aftermarket content.”
TransDigm designs and manufactures aircraft components used in most commercial and military aircraft.