ICV Partners’ acquired position in Cargo Airport Services LLC (CAS) cost the New York-based private equity firm between $100 million and $500 million, a source close to the auction told Mergers & Acquisitions.
The deal was announced Tuesday, April 5, but the price tag was not specified.
Headquartered at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Jamaica, N.Y., CAS is the second largest cargo handling company in North America and operates 21 facilities in 12 airports. After about five years of joint ownership, MidMark Capital and Weinberg Group hired Jason Bass of BB&T Capital Markets last summer to shop the company to other private equity firms and strategic competitors, two sources said.
“Financial buyers were the ones that were there at the end,” one source said, referring to the auction’s final rounds. About two or three bidder groups negotiated before ICV won the process, he added.
Neither source disclosed names or details regarding other bidders, but dealbooks were circulated to industry players, they say.
CAS’ rivals include Swissport International Ltd. in Glattbrugg, Switzerland, John Menzies plc. in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has bought cargo-handling company Worldwide Flight Services Inc. (WFS) owned by French private equity firm LBO France.
Whether or not these companies showed up at the negotiation table is unlcear. Each appear to busy in their own right.
In February, Ferrovial SA concluded the sale of Swissport to French private equity firm PAI Partners, for €695 million. Meanwhile, John Menzies is looking to raise capital, and LBO is rumored to be exploring a sale of WFS, one source says.
The CAS acquisition may be the latest in an upcoming slew of deal activity in the cargo-handling industry.
“There is opportunity to follow our customers to new airports, and we continue to add new contracts each quarter at our existing markets,” according to CAS president Michael Duffy in a prepared statement.
Calls to CAS were not returned.
The company’s customers include Air China, Air France, British Airways, Korean Air and UPS. It ranks as the largest cargo handler at JFK International Airport in New York and George Bush Intercontinental in Houston.
ICV received legal counsel from Kirkland & Ellis and Ernst & Young, but did not hire an investment adviser to assist with the purchase.
New York-based Prospect Capital Corp. provided a $58 million first-lien senior secured credit facility to support the acquisition.
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