Avincis to Be Acquired by Babcock to Form a Global Leader in Mission-Critical Services

LONDON--()--Investindustrial Group (“Investindustrial”) and KKR today announce that Babcock International Group PLC (“Babcock”), the UK’s leading engineering support services company, has entered into an agreement with Investindustrial and KKR to acquire the entirety of the issued share capital of Avincis for an enterprise value of approximately €2.0 billion (the "Transaction"). The transaction brings together two leading international companies that provide complex, mission-critical services to public sector bodies and blue-chip corporate clients on long-term contracts. The transaction is subject to Babcock’s general meeting approval convened for 16th April 2014 as well as customary regulatory clearances.

Avincis is a leading supplier of helicopter and fixed-wing emergency services (medical, search and rescue (SAR), fire-fighting, surveillance and civil protection) as well as a leading supplier of critical offshore crew-change helicopter services to the oil and gas industry in the North Sea and Australia.

Avincis has achieved a double-digit organic revenue growth rate since 2005, when Investindustrial acquired the company, and further enhanced its positioning and expansion since KKR’s entry in 2010. At the end of December 2013, Avincis had an order book of €2.3 billion, a 30% increase on 2012.

Andrea C. Bonomi, Senior Partner of Investindustrial commented: “Since we acquired Avincis in 2005 and in successful partnership with KKR since 2010, we have built the Group to become the world’s largest mission-critical helicopter and fixed-wing services operator. Our joint vision for the company has resulted in nine important acquisitions allowing the company to enter new markets, and achieve an industry leadership position in quality of service, focus on safety, and profitability. Babcock, with its culture of engineering services excellence, is the ideal industrial partner for Avincis to now bring the company to its next stage of development.”

Mattia Caprioli, Member of KKR and Head of KKR's services sector team in Europe, said: “Our investment partnership with Investindustrial was built on the joint belief in the organic growth potential in emergency services, the unique opportunity to consolidate a fragmented industry and the resilience of the business model through infrastructure-like contracts. Both organic growth and acquisitions have transformed Avincis into the leading and internationally diversified company that it is today.”

James Drummond, CEO of Avincis, noted: “The active ownership by Investindustrial and KKR has taken Avincis to a new level of development, supporting the management in M&A, corporate governance, financing and introductions to key new clients, suppliers and project partners. We now look forward to the partnership with Babcock to further build global scale and technical leadership in delivering vital services to public and private customers.”

About Avincis Group

Avincis is one of the world’s leading providers of aviation services for mission-critical operations such as medical emergency, civil protection, search & rescue (SAR), coast and city surveillance, fire-fighting and energy support services. Based in the UK, Avincis provides central resources, safety and operating standards and systems and expertise to its operating companies who serve local markets and customers in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, UK, Norway, Australia and Ireland. Of primary importance is Avincis’s oversight of safety standards across all its operations, with a global target of zero accidents. Avincis’ companies operate mainly medium to long term concession-like contracts with governments and blue-chip corporations, taking advantage of the growth of the outsourcing industry worldwide. Avincis operates a fleet of around 350 aircraft and employs around 3,000 people. In 2013, Avincis flew over 98,500 hours worldwide, performed 51,450 emergency medical service missions, 6,350 fire-fighting missions, 2,100 sea and mountain rescues and transported 173,000 oil and gas engineers, technicians and other passengers. Avincis also conducts maintenance for third-party clients on helicopter and fixed-wing contracts. For additional information, please visit Avincis’s website at www.avincisgroup.com

About Investindustrial

Investindustrial is a leading European investment group with approximately €3.1 billion of assets under management, which provides industrial solutions and capital to mid-market companies in Europe. Its mission is to actively contribute to the development of the companies in which it invests, by creating growth opportunities and offering global solutions through an entrepreneurial pan-European vision. Investindustrial has a history of more than 20 years of successfully partnering with companies in Europe. Certain companies of the Investindustrial group are authorized by, and subject to regulatory supervision of the FCA in the United Kingdom and the CSSF in Luxembourg. Additional information is available at www.investindustrial.com

About KKR

Founded in 1976 and led by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR is a leading global investment firm with $94.3 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2013. With offices around the world, KKR manages assets through a variety of investment funds and accounts covering multiple asset classes. KKR seeks to create value by bringing operational expertise to its portfolio companies and through active oversight and monitoring of its investments. KKR complements its investment expertise and strengthens interactions with fund investors through its client relationships and capital markets platform. KKR & Co. L.P. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KKR) and “KKR”, as used in this release, includes its subsidiaries, their managed investment funds and accounts, and/or their affiliated investment vehicles, as appropriate. For additional information, please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com

Contacts

Investindustrial
Carl Nauckhoff, +41 91 2608326
cnauckhoff@investindustrial.com
or
KKR
Kristi Huller, +1 212 230 9722
kristi.huller@kkr.com
or
Maitland
David Stürken / Liz Morley
+44 207 3795151
dsturken@maitland.co.uk
lmorley@maitland.co.uk
or
RLM Finsbury
Nina Suter, +44 207 2513801
nina.suter@rlmfinsbury.com

Contacts

Investindustrial
Carl Nauckhoff, +41 91 2608326
cnauckhoff@investindustrial.com
or
KKR
Kristi Huller, +1 212 230 9722
kristi.huller@kkr.com
or
Maitland
David Stürken / Liz Morley
+44 207 3795151
dsturken@maitland.co.uk
lmorley@maitland.co.uk
or
RLM Finsbury
Nina Suter, +44 207 2513801
nina.suter@rlmfinsbury.com