2015 set to be a bumper year for bizav mergers
The private jet sector is on the edge of a M&A frenzy and the past few months have seen several mergers in our industry. A still-challenging trading environment and government regulations are forcing scale to be the only route to profitability for aircraft operators.
Last month came the announcement of Hangar8’s proposed reverse takeover of operator Gama Aviation. Yesterday Hangar8’s shareholders voted in favour of the plans, with the new company Gama Aviation PLC now set to be a top 5 global operator, offering a 144-strong fleet, across all major geographical markets.
This followed Luxaviation Group’s acquisition of London Executive Aviation (LEA), earlier in the year.
With LEA a leading UK operator and Luxaviation one of the major players in the rest of Europe, the combined business now offers one of Europe’s biggest fleets, with 90 aircraft.
What further mergers and acquisitions will follow in 2015? Our industry is a fast-changing and fragmented one, and with operators under increasing commercial pressure, I don’t doubt there will be many.
In addition to company takeovers, I expect we’ll also see a move towards strategic alliances between smaller aircraft operators: Retaining their independence, but able to offer access to a larger, more geographically-spread fleet. Much as has been the pattern in the airline sector.
Here at PrivateFly, we are also looking ahead to an exciting year of change. Our intention is to accelerate our business growth in 2015, by seeking further investment of up to £6M.
This investment will enable us to grow more quickly in the USA, where we are already seeing some exciting results, and to further develop our technology for all our global platforms.
For more information see our press release: PrivateFly Seeks £6M Fundraising For Further Expansion
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