Market Intelligence: -Investments and Acquisitions

EUR 218 Million – Textron’s Purchase Price of Aircraft Manufacturer Pipistrel

Textron Inc. announced that it has closed its acquisition of PIPISTREL d.o.o., PIPISTREL VERTICAL SOLUTIONS d.o.o. and PIPISTREL ITALIA S.R.L., known collectively as Pipistrel, an award-winning pioneer and global leader in electrically powered aircraft.

Pipistrel’s Velis Electro is the world’s first, and currently only, electric aircraft to receive full type-certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The company, which offers a family of gliders and light aircraft with both electric and combustion engines, has delivered more than 2,500 light aircraft worldwide since its founding in 1989 and additionally has both hybrid and electric propulsion models under development.

As a Textron company, Pipistrel will have access to greater resources, technical and regulatory expertise and a global aircraft sales and support network, enabling it to accelerate its development and certification of electric and hybrid electric aircraft. Pipistrel is now part of Textron’s newest business segment, Textron eAviation, which will pursue Textron’s long-term strategy to offer a family of sustainable aircraft for urban air mobility, general aviation, cargo and special mission roles. Rob Scholl, who has been leading Textron’s eAviation initiatives to date, has been named president and CEO of the segment.

“Pipistrel has already achieved what many other companies only aspire to – certifying and delivering highly regarded electric aircraft to customers around the world,” said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly. “We are excited to accelerate Pipistrel’s development and to welcome its talented people into our organization, where we will pool expertise to make Textron a world leader in sustainable aircraft for a wide range of missions.”

Pipistrel will remain a distinct aviation brand within Textron, alongside the company’s already established Cessna, Beechcraft, and Bell brands. Its headquarters, research and development, and manufacturing will remain in Slovenia and Italy, where Textron plans to make additional investments to expand manufacturing and product development capabilities.

“With Pipistrel, we have the opportunity to take an already great aircraft manufacturer and make it greater still,” said Textron eAviation CEO Rob Scholl. “We look forward to working with its remarkable team and helping the business achieve its full potential.”

Under the terms of the transaction, Textron purchased Pipistrel for a cash purchase price of approximately €218 million. Pipistrel’s founder and CEO, Ivo Boscarol, will remain a minority shareholder of Pipistrel with an approximately 10 percent interest for a two-year period, during which he will advise on future product plans and strategies. The cash purchase price includes the amount for which his minority interest will be purchased at the end of the two-year period.

About Textron Inc.

Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Arctic Cat, and Textron Systems.

About Pipistrel

In 2020, Pipistrel’s Velis Electro became the world’s first, and currently only, electric aircraft to receive full type-certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This achievement followed a series of electric aircraft introductions since the company began research and development of electric propulsion in 2000. Pipistrel’s pioneering work has been recognized through awards from NASA, IDC, and other organizations. The company, which offers a family of gliders and light aircraft with both electric and combustion engines, has delivered more than 2,500 light aircraft worldwide since its founding in 1989 and additionally has both hybrid and electric propulsion models under development.

About Textron eAviation

Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Textron eAviation is focused on sustainable flying, backed by Textron’s 100 years of expertise and the restless spirit for innovation that is embodied in our Pipistrel, Cessna, Beechcraft and Bell brands.

Taking the lead in Textron’s development of sustainably powered flight, Textron eAviation is leveraging the industry-leading product design, certification, manufacturing, and aftermarket solutions from across Textron’s businesses coupled with the newly acquired expertise of Pipistrel.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, difficulty or unanticipated expenses in connection with integrating the acquired business; the risk that anticipated synergies and opportunities as a result of the acquisition will not be realized; the efficacy of research and development investments to develop and certify new electric and hybrid electric aircraft products; unanticipated expenses or delays in connection with the launching of such new products; and our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the introduction of such new products.

For more information, kindly contact Textron.

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Flight Training Management Software Announces Growth Equity Investment

FlightLogger, the global leader in Flight Training Management software, announces the close of its significant growth equity recapitalization with Arcadea Group, the only permanent-capital growth equity investor in software companies globally.

The transaction will see FlightLogger’s Founder, Kenneth Jeppesen, maintain a material equity stake and continue in his role as CEO, leading the business through accelerated growth, innovation, and geographic expansion.

“Flight schools – from ab initio, to type rating, and everything in between – are increasingly demanding a modern, cloud-native solution to help administer their business, a clear departure from the legacy vendors that exist in this market,” said Kenneth Jeppesen, CEO. “The demand for our products and services has never been stronger. Having been pursued by many investors and acquirors, Arcadea was the obvious choice given their expertise in investing and operating businesses like mine, and given their long-term approach to growth that no other firm seems to offer in the market.”

Paul Yancich, Managing Director & Co-Founder of Arcadea Group, said, “We engaged with every vendor in this market in our search for the right partner. FlightLogger is the clear leader in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and, increasingly, North America. The feedback from both potential and current customers was resoundingly positive.” He went on to say, “It’s notable that FlightLogger’s founder and core team have direct aviation experience– customers get not just the best products on the market, but a team that lives and breathes their industry. We see this as being highly correlated with great products in vertical markets.”

“We’re thrilled to be joining forces with FlightLogger’s founder in this transaction,” said Daniel Eisen, Managing Director & Co-Founder of Arcadea Group. He added, “The business is a perfect fit for Arcadea as a bootstrapped, highly efficient software business that wasn’t interested in selling out to the volume aggregators, PE’s, or the strategics of the world. We look forward to partnering with and supporting Kenneth and the team in decades to come.”

For FlightLogger CEO Kenneth Jeppesen, being able to maintain a long-term approach has been a crucial factor in partnering with Arcadea, “While other private-equity-owned players in the North American market are optimizing for a quick asset flip to yet another financial owner in the very short-term, FlightLogger customers can rest assured that the company will pursue a long-term, healthy vision that puts the customers – not financial buyers – first.”

FlightLogger will continue to be based in Denmark but will see global expansion of the team to support significant demand from a variety of international markets.

About FlightLogger
FlightLogger is the leading provider of Flight School Management software. Based in Aarhus, Denmark, FlightLogger provides an all-in-one SaaS platform for managing the operations of a flight school, from scheduling, to training management, student assessment and grading, aircraft maintenance, compliance management, and flight records management – all in a standardized framework that fully supports each school’s unique approach to creating new pilots.

FlightLogger is currently used by tens of thousands of users in 45 countries, with those numbers expected to grow exponentially over the next years.

About Arcadea Group
Arcadea Group invests in high-quality, independent, typically founder-controlled software companies over typically extremely long durations of time that no private equity or growth equity firm can match. Based in Toronto and investing globally, Arcadea exclusively focuses on businesses with long-term growth potential and ambitions.

For more information, kindly contact FlightLogger.

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Flight School Management Software Developer Receives $31 Million Investment

Flight Schedule Pro, a leading provider of cloud-based business management software for flight schools, universities, flying clubs, and other aviation constituents announced a $31 million investment from Mainsail Partners, a growth equity firm that invests in fast-growing, bootstrapped software companies.

Founded in 2000 by Jasen Barnes (CEO) and Nick Wegner (CTO), Flight Schedule Pro’s mission is to provide aviators, aircraft operators, and flight schools with technology and tools to help facilitate their success. Flight Schedule Pro plans to use the investment to accelerate its product roadmap, invest in its team, and expand its customer service capabilities.

Founders Wegner, a trained pilot, and Barnes launched Flight Schedule Pro while at the University of Kansas, inspired by firsthand experience with inefficient aviation training processes. In the years since, Flight Schedule Pro has grown into a full suite of business management and flight training solutions. Today, the product enables flight schools, flying clubs, aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) departments, and pilots to improve efficiency in flight scheduling, billing, payments, training, fleet maintenance and day-to-day reporting. By leveraging Flight Schedule Pro, customers can reduce administrative complexities, increase aircraft and instructor utilization, and decrease unbilled flight time. The product is used by over 1,000 operators that collectively maintain and utilize nearly 10,000 aircraft used by over 150,000 student pilots and certified instructors.

Both founders believe they are entering a critical time in the company’s history, as the industry is experiencing a large and growing pilot shortage that is increasing demand for flight training. In their Pilot and Technician Outlook 2021-2040 report, Boeing expects the industry will need 612,000 pilots to replace the existing pilots in the industry over the next 20 years. Due to this shortage, there’s been an increasing demand for flight training and safety.

“Alongside our customers, we believe we are in a unique position to provide a solution to the pilot shortage. We care about people and—through aviation safety and quality training—we want to empower our customers and students to achieve their aviation dreams,” said Wegner.

“Creating Flight Schedule Pro has been the challenge of a lifetime,” said Barnes. “We searched for a partner who would complement our skillset and help accelerate our growth, and Mainsail stood above the pack. They have an amazing team who believes in our vision for the future.”

“We are excited to be partnering with the team at Flight Schedule Pro,” said Jason Frankel, Partner at Mainsail. “We believe they have an innovative software product that serves an industry that is underserved by technology solutions, and they’ve shown a dedication to continually improving the product and enabling their customers, student pilots, and certified instructors to grow and achieve their goals.”

Gavin Turner, Managing Partner of Mainsail will join Frankel, Barnes and Wegner on the company’s board of directors. In addition, Paul Bridgewater, a multi-time software CEO, and current CEO of ResMan will join the board as Executive Chairman.

About Flight Schedule Pro
Flight Schedule Pro is a software-as-a-service provider in the aviation industry, serving 1,000+ operators and booking over 10,000 flights per day. Established career pilot training centers, universities, and colleges across the country use Flight Schedule Pro to help them streamline operations, grow their businesses and introduce more people to the world of flying. The platform offers Flight Scheduling, Part 141 & Part 61 Training, Online Billing and Payments, and Aircraft Maintenance Operations Management.

About Mainsail Partners
Mainsail Partners is a growth equity firm with offices in San Francisco and Austin that invests exclusively in fast-growing, bootstrapped software companies. The firm has raised over $1.3 billion and invested in more than 50 growing companies since 2003. Mainsail prioritizes investments in B2B software companies with compelling business models in growing markets. The firm’s approach to driving value creation is anchored in a dedicated Operations Team that is purpose-built to help founders scale their businesses and accelerate growth. These women and men include former software company operators who leverage real-world experience, well-established best practices, and a true partnership ethos to support management teams.

For more information, kindly contact Flight Schedule Pro.

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Textron to Acquire Electric Aircraft Manufacturer Pipistrel

Textron Inc., home to the Cessna, Beechcraft, and Bell aviation brands, today announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase Pipistrel, an award-winning pioneer and global leader in electrically powered aircraft, based in Slovenia and Italy.

With Textron, Pipistrel will have access to greater resources, technical and regulatory expertise and a global aircraft sales and support network, enabling it to accelerate its development and certification of electric and hybrid electric aircraft. Upon closing of the transaction, Textron plans to form a new business segment, Textron eAviation, focused on the development of sustainable aircraft, which will include Pipistrel.

“Pipistrel puts Textron in a uniquely strong position to develop technologies for the sustainable aviation market and develop a variety of new aircraft to meet a wide range of customer missions,” said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly. “Today’s announcement supports Textron’s long-term strategy to offer a family of sustainable aircraft for urban air mobility, general aviation, cargo and special mission roles.”

“Pipistrel has been celebrated as one of the world’s most important and successful manufacturers of electric aircraft,” continued Donnelly. “Textron is committed to maintaining Pipistrel’s brand, headquarters, research and development, and manufacturing in Slovenia and Italy, while making additional investments in Pipistrel for the development and production of future products.”

Pipistrel founder and CEO Ivo Boscarol will remain a minority shareholder as well as Chairman Emeritus, consulting on future product plans and strategies for a two-year period.

“Under my 30-year leadership, Pipistrel’s team has achieved a unique prime position in personal, affordable, environmentally friendly and electric aviation. The trend and foundation for future projects has clearly been set,” said Boscarol. “To drive Pipistrel’s ambitious goals and to continue its story of success, the joining of Textron and Pipistrel provides deep expertise and resources which would otherwise be inaccessible to Pipistrel alone. With Textron, we are together geared to strive for future growth and look forward to announcing exciting new products and projects. I am delighted to continue witnessing my vision become a reality by being actively engaged with the company for the future.”

The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

About Textron Inc.

Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Arctic Cat, and Textron Systems.

About Textron eAviation

Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Textron eAviation will focus on sustainable flying, backed by Textron’s 100 years of expertise and the restless spirit for innovation that is embodied in our Cessna, Beechcraft and Bell brands.

Taking the lead in Textron’s development of sustainably powered flight, Textron eAviation will leverage the industry-leading product design, certification, manufacturing, and aftermarket solutions from across Textron’s businesses coupled with the newly acquired expertise of Pipistrel.

About Pipistrel

In 2020, Pipistrel’s Velis Electro became the world’s first, and currently only, electric aircraft to receive full type-certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This achievement followed a series of electric aircraft introductions since the company began research and development of electric propulsion in 2000. Pipistrel’s pioneering work has been recognized through awards from NASA, IDC, and other organizations. The company, which offers a family of gliders and light aircraft with both electric and combustion engines, has delivered more than 2,500 light aircraft worldwide since its founding in 1989 and additionally has both hybrid and electric propulsion models under development. This transaction include the following companies: PIPISTREL d.o.o., PIPISTREL VERTICAL SOLUTIONS d.o.o. and PIPISTREL ITALIA SRL.

For more information, kindly contact Textron.

You may also check our Terms and Conditions for our Content Policy.

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US Pilot Training Organization invests US$6 million in 20 new Simulators

ATP Flight School has announced the purchase of 20 Flight Simulators, specifically Advanced Aircraft Training Devices (AATDs), from Frasca Flight Simulation. Carrying a list price of six million dollars, the FAA-approved AATDs will be used exclusively in ATP’s Airline Career Pilot Program to train the next generation of airline pilots.

ATP pioneered accelerated airline pilot training in 1984 and, since then, has continued investing in new technology to lead industry performance and provide efficient training that develops professional airline pilots. The purchase of 20 simulators from Frasca represents the next evolution of that mission, as ATP expands its fleet of simulators, making it possible to introduce students to foundational skills in a safe and controlled environment. This airline-oriented approach increases proficiency and maximizes the time spent learning in the aircraft.

This industry-leading fidelity and realism allow for a more impactful transfer of learning and skill from the simulator to the airplane, increasing the effectiveness of training.

“Key to providing the most efficient path to a successful airline pilot career is investing in new technologies and resources that allow ATP students to train more effectively and safely,” said Michael Arnold, Director of Marketing, ATP Flight School. “Investing in these state-of-art AATDs increases safety during the initial stages of training and will allow students to gain proficiency in fundamental skills on the ground to maximize their time in the air.”

“Frasca and ATP have been partners for many years. These 20 new Frasca FTD’s for the C172 and Archer will support ATP’s training programs with the most technically advanced and realistic flight simulation available. This will ensure a maximum transfer of learning and contribute to increased safety,” stated John Frasca, President of Frasca International, Inc.

ATP operates 450 aircraft and 130 simulators across 70 locations, including an existing fleet of Level 5 and 6 flight training devices. Deliveries of the new Frasca simulators will begin at the end of the second quarter and continue through year-end.

For more information, kindly contact ATP.

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