KKR nears deal to buy Macquarie Infrastructure’s Atlantic Aviation

Bloomberg

Buyout firm KKR & Co is close to reaching an agreement to buy Atlantic Aviation from Macquarie Infrastructure Corp, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal could value the airport services company at about $4.5 billion, including debt, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter was private. A sale was expected to be announced on Monday, they said.
A final agreement hasn’t been reached and talks could end without one, the people said.
Atlantic Aviation offers hangar space, aircraft maintenance and other services. A spokesperson for the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for KKR and Macquarie declined to comment.
In January, Macquarie was seeking bids for Atlantic Aviation, Bloomberg News reported. The company was seen as being worth as much as $4 billion, including debt, if it was valued at a similar multiple to rival Signature Aviation Plc, which agreed to a buyout by Global Infrastructure Partners and Blackstone Group Inc. Signature was valued in its deal at almost $7 billion, including debt.
Macquarie began fielding interest in Atlantic Aviation last year before the coronavirus pandemic hit, then focussed its attention elsewhere in the portfolio, people familiar with the matter have said.
In December, it completed the sale of International-Matex Tank Terminals to an affiliate
of Riverstone Holdings for
$2.7 billion.
“With the successful completion of the sale of IMTT, we will focus our resources on the operation of our remaining businesses, both of which are performing in line with our expectations, and on the sale of the company or those businesses separately as a means of unlocking additional value for shareholders,” Macquarie Chief Executive Officer Christopher Frost said in December.
In January, KKR said it raised $3.9 billion for its first Asia-
Pacific infrastructure fund, amassing the largest pool of cash in the region for investments in everything from waste management and renewable energy to communication towers.