Houlihan Lokey Advises SK AeroSafety

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that SK AeroSafety, a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP), has been acquired by Bridgepoint Development Capital (BDC). The transaction closed on July 20, 2023.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Wokingham, United Kingdom, SK AeroSafety is a leading global provider of maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for aircraft safety equipment. Originally part of SK FireSafety Group, the company has successfully developed into the market-leading independent provider of aircraft safety testing, inspection, and maintenance services through organic growth initiatives and a series of strategic international acquisitions. The company operates in 14 fully integrated facilities across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

LLCP is a middle-market private equity firm with a 39-year track record of investing across various targeted sectors, including franchising and multi-unit, business services, education and training, and engineered products and manufacturing. Since inception, LLCP has managed approximately $13.3 billion of institutional capital across 15 investment funds and has invested in more than 100 portfolio companies. LLCP currently manages $8.7 billion of assets and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Charlotte, Miami, London, Stockholm, The Hague, and Frankfurt.

Bridgepoint is one of the world’s leading quoted private asset growth investors, specializing in private equity and private debt. With more than €38 billion of assets under management and a strong local presence in Europe, the U.S., and China, they combine global scale with local market insight and sector expertise, consistently delivering strong returns through cycles. Bridgepoint’s lower mid-cap investment strategy is carried out by BDC, a dedicated team focused on buyouts and growth capital investments in businesses typically valued at up to £200 million.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to SK AeroSafety and assisted in structuring and negotiating the transaction on its behalf. Within Houlihan Lokey’s Aerospace & Defense practice in its global Industrials Group, the firm is a leading M&A advisor to aerospace aftermarket companies. Since 2020, the team has closed more than 55 transactions worth over $10 billion in enterprise value. With a staff of more than 15 investment bankers, Houlihan Lokey’s Aerospace & Defense practice is among the largest dedicated industry banking groups worldwide. In 2022, the Industrials Group was once again ranked as the No. 1 M&A advisor for all U.S. industrials transactions, according to Refinitiv.*

*Excludes accounting firms and brokers.