StandardAero set to soar under new owners

By: Martin Cash | Posted: 07/25/2015 3:00 AM

BEFORE Veritas Capital closed its $2.13-billion acquisition of StandardAero earlier this month, a number of the New York private equity firm’s partners flew to Winnipeg and toured the facilities.

In one of his first interviews since the deal was closed, Russell Ford, StandardAero’s CEO, said that tour helped seal the deal.

“They came to Winnipeg, I took them through and introduced them to employees and managers, and I stepped out of the way and let these guys tell them what they do,” Ford said in a phone interview from StandardAero’s head office in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“The Veritas guys walked away and said, ‘Wow you have a terrific team here. These are the type of people that we want to work with.’ ”

StandardAero has had a series of private equity owners over the years and has managed the transitions well.

Ford said there will be no exception this time other than that the company is poised to grow.

The company’s former owners, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, planned on a seven-year hold, and it was not a big surprise earlier this year when rumours started to circulate it was on the market.

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