Alantra advises Tuckerman Capital on the sale of its TRS Global Services, LLC Ireland subsidiary to StandardAero

Jan 2020

Sell-side advisory

Alantra, a leading global investment bank and asset management firm, has advised TRS Global Services, LLC (“TRS”), a portfolio company of Tuckerman Capital, on the sale of its subsidiary, Turbine Repair Services Global Ireland Limited (“TRS Ireland” or the “Company”), to U.S. trade buyer StandardAero, one of the world’s largest independent providers of engine and airframe maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, engine component repair, engineering services, interior completions, and paint applications. Alantra acted as exclusive financial advisor to TRS on the sale of TRS Ireland, a standalone business and independent subsidiary. The transaction closed on January 16, 2020 and the deal value was not disclosed.

This is the sixth deal Alantra has completed in the aerospace sector in the past twelve months, having recently advised Doncasters Ltd on the sale of two of its businesses; TRIGO Group on the acquisition of Supplier Management Solutions; ADDEV Materials on the minority investment from Tikehau and Bpifrance; and Ardian on the €300m acquisition of Revima. Alantra’s experience with complex carve-out transactions coupled with its international sector team ensured the success of the transaction.

Headquartered in Cork, Ireland, TRS Ireland is a privately held company with nearly 70,000 square feet of operations and more than 100 employees. The Company provides OEM and MRO solutions to the aerospace and industrial turbine markets, including aircraft, aeroderivative, and light industrial gas turbines. TRS Ireland has long-standing relationships with a diverse group of leading aerospace and industrial gas turbine players, including Siemens, GE, and Rolls Royce, among others, and it  holds over 180 OEM approvals/licenses and distinct FAA and EASA certifications.

The Alantra team advising TRS Ireland included Wade Aust (Managing Director & Partner, Boston), David Waldstein (Director, Boston), Richard Benyahia (Director, Birmingham, UK), Jackson Rimpas (Associate, New York), and Gardiner Schroeder (Analyst, Boston).

“This deal marks the third transaction in the last two months for the Alantra Aerospace & Defense team and we are delighted to have advised TRS Ireland on its strategic sale to StandardAero,” said Mr. Aust. “StandardAero is the ideal buyer of TRS Ireland whose vertically-integrated service offering, coating expertise, and strong engineering capabilities will fit seamlessly into StandardAero’s Components, Helicopters & Accessories (CH&A) division.”

Mr. Waldstein added, “Since selling TRS Ireland to Tuckerman Capital and Profectus Capital in 2014, there has been a meaningful step forward in the Company’s operations and work statement.  It is gratifying to see the Company successfully achieve the milestones initially set out in our client’s investment thesis for TRS Ireland.  The sale to StandardAero is a great result and enables StandardAero to continue the expansion of its portfolio of MRO and component repair services.”

Nick Russell, a Partner at Tuckerman Capital who leads the TRS investment, explained, “Alantra’s prior knowledge of the Company, combined with their deep turbine repair domain expertise, enabled a disciplined and efficient sale process that resulted in the best new owner for TRS Ireland.”

Tom Nugent, Executive Chairman of TRS and acquisition partner to Tuckerman Capital in 2014, added, “The TRS Ireland management team was essential in driving consistent growth and improvement throughout Tuckerman Capital’s ownership.  They worked collaboratively with Alantra to prepare the business for sale and tirelessly throughout the process.”

Mr. Benyahia concluded, “Our international team has unrivalled experience of carefully managing carve-out transactions and we are delighted to have advised TRS on this complex deal.  We are seeing significant M&A activity within the aerospace sector, particularly within the fast-growing aerospace turbine engine repair market where TRS Ireland operates.”