DUBAI, (Reuters) – State-owned Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell Landmark Aviation’s fixed-base operations business to U.S. private equity firm GTCR for $435 million.
DAE bought plane-servicing firms Standard Aero Holdings Inc and Piedmont/Hawthorne Holdings Inc, which does business under the name Landmark Aviation, for $1.8 billion in April 2007.
“Our goal from the initial stage of the acquisition was to focus on building a global maintenance, repair and overhaul operation and divest the FBO business,” said Omar bin Sulaiman, managing director, DAE Group in a statement.
Dubai Aerospace is building up a conglomerate operating airports and leasing and servicing planes from its base in the Gulf Arab emirate.
GTCR manages more than $8 billion in equity and mezzanine capital, according to the firm’s Web site.