Bankers See Aerospace Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul Services M&A Staying Aloft in Near Term

On the heels of topical deals including AE Industrial’s purchase of Air Transport Components, bankers say they expect M&A activity to remain robust in the aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, services sector as air travel recovers post-Covid-19 pandemic and airline manufacturers grapple with production delays.

Ryan Kirby, a junior partner at aerospace and defense investment bank Alderman & Co., said his firm sees “no slowdown in MRO M&A in the near term.”

Last week, AE announced its acquisition of Air Transport Components, which handles the repair and overhaul of components and accessories for commercial and military aircraft. AE, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based private equity firm, is no stranger to the sector, having in 2023 purchased a majority stake in Yingling Aviation, a provider of MRO and fixed-base operator, or FBO, services to business aviation and government customers.

For its part, Greenbriar Equity Group has been both a buyer and seller in the MRO sector over the past year. In May, Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm bought West Star Aviation, an MRO provider for business aircraft, from The Sterling Group. KKR led the debt financing for the transaction.

Greenbriar acquired Sunvair Aerospace Group, which specializes in aircraft accessory repair and landing gear overhauls, from Blue Sea Capital in June 2024. As of March 31, 2025, business development companies that held Sunvair’s first lien debt due May 2031 included Ares Capital Corp. and Ares Strategic Income Fund, according to Octus’, formerly Reorg’s, BDC Database. The loan priced at SOFR+500 bps.

Industry dynamics are compelling for continued MRO M&A, said Alderman’s Kirby, adding that buyers and sellers are “aligned on respective views of the future, which aligns value expectations.” With reported Transportation Security Administration checkpoint travel numbers bouncing back to pre-Covid-19 levels and continued production delays at Boeing and Airbus, MRO services are in high demand as fleets are in operation for longer, Kirby noted.

On the exit side, Greenbriar sold STS Aviation Group, a provider of aftermarket, MRO and distribution services for the aviation and defense industries, to H.I.G. Capital in October 2024. As of March 31, lenders to STS Parent, dba STS Aviation Group, included Blue Owl Capital Corp., according to Octus’ BDC Database. The first lien senior secured loan, which priced at SOFR+500 bps, is slated to mature in October 2031 and the first lien senior secured revolving loan is due October 2030, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Other deal activity in the sector last year includes Snow Peak Capital’s acquisition of TurbineAero Inc., an MRO services provider focusing on aircraft auxiliary power units and other aeroengine components, from The Gores Group.

Ian Cookson, a Capstone Partners managing director whose areas of focus include the aerospace and defense sectors, said he expects the fact that “business is as good as it has been for many of these MRO folks is likely to draw out sellers.”

Buyers, meanwhile, “can point to long lead times before aircraft get built for continued revenue at elevated levels,” Cookson said.

Cookson added, however, that because older aircraft are the first to get cut in a downturn, the potential impact on repair businesses would likely be magnified and he therefore expects acquirers to be fearful of paying peak multiples on peak earnings “at some point.”

It boils down to “whether there is a match on transaction pricing,” Cookson said.