StandardAero makes safe landing after US$1.6bn exit by Carlyle, GIC
StandardAero helped ease a US$1.6bn secondary stock sale executed overnight on Tuesday by agreeing to repurchase shares through a concurrent private placement, making the selldown modestly accretive to earnings.
Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and RBC Capital Markets led a syndicate of banks in pricing 50m shares at US$31, the bottom end of the US$31–$32 range marketed overnight, on behalf of selling shareholders Carlyle Group and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC.
The aerospace equipment maker and supplier's shares closed on Wednesday above issue at US$31.59.
StandardAero bought back another US$50m worth of stock from one of the selling shareholders after implementing a new US$450m share repurchase programme in December.
Carlyle and GIC, which took StandardAero public in late 2024, reduced their stakes to 33.2% and 7.5% from 45.6% and 10.3% ahead of the offering.
This was the third time the duo has sold stock since the IPO, following the sale of 36m shares in March last year and another 34.5m shares in May, both priced at US$28.
While another secondary selldown was expected, the 50m shares sold equated to a weighty 25 days' trading volume and a 15% stake in StandardAero.
In conjunction with the selldown, StandardAero pre-announced full-year 2025 expected Ebitda and revenue of US$806m–$812m and US$6bn–$6.1bn, in line with the US$802m and US$6bn analyst consensus, according to LSEG data.
“We believe dedicating a portion of capital to a stock buyback programme is prudent,” StandardAero CEO Russell Ford said in December of the stock repurchase programme. “This decision reflects our confidence in the future of our business and our ability to capitalise on market dislocations when they arise.”
Carlyle and GIC are restricted from selling again for 30 days.