Liberty Hall Acquires Precise Machining & Mfg.

Liberty Hall Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry, have acquired Precise Machining & Manufacturing, a Tier II supplier of highly engineered machined parts, kits and assemblies, and processing services to the global aerospace industry. Precise will serve as the foundational asset of Accurus Aerospace Corp., which has been formed by Liberty Hall to become a fully integrated, highly diversified Tier II aerostructures supplier through a combination of strategic investments and additional strategic acquisitions. Liberty Hall's investment partners in the transaction are Hamilton Lane and other leading institutional investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

"As a private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace and defense industry, we identified significant growth opportunities available today for operationally and financially capable aerostructures suppliers," says Rowan Taylor, Liberty Hall's founding partner. "With strong demand from emerging market economies and the competitive need for the most fuel-efficient commercial aircraft driving order backlogs to all-time highs, annual production of new aircraft is expected to increase significantly over at least the next decade. We believe this trend, coupled with the continuing need for original equipment manufacturers and Tier I suppliers to outsource manufacturing to cost-efficient Tier II suppliers, offers significant growth opportunities to well-positioned and well-capitalized suppliers like Accurus."

 

Founded in 1974, Tulsa, Okla.-based Precise supplies several of the highest value commercial aerospace platforms, including the Boeing 737, 747, 777, and 787 and the Gulfstream G650, as well as select U.S. military platforms. The company's two largest customers are The Boeing Company and Spirit AeroSystems. Precise has been named a Boeing "Supplier of the Year."

 

"In looking for a knowledgeable and financially capable investment partner to help Precise continue to grow, Liberty Hall's deep operating and investing expertise in the aerospace industry was critically important to us," said Steve Mosher, Precise's founder. "Because of those attributes, as well as Liberty Hall's disciplined investment approach and strategy for building businesses, I am remaining a minority investor in Accurus."

 

Liberty Hall has recruited Jim Gibson, an aerospace industry veteran with more than 30 years of industry experience, to lead Accurus as its CEO. Gibson was most recently executive vice president of business development for Synchronous Aerospace Group, an aerostructures supplier, where he was responsible for new business development, strategy, and identifying and integrating strategic acquisitions. Prior to joining Synchronous Aerospace Group, Gibson was President of GKN Transparency Systems. Accurus has also named Dennis Gilbert to serve as CFO. Gilbert also possesses more than 30 years of industry experience with Amsafe Industries, Esterline Corp., and GKN Aerostructures.

 

Gibson adds: "The aerostructures segment of the aerospace market is large, growing, and remains highly fragmented, providing an excellent opportunity for Accurus to take advantage of the current healthy commercial aerospace build cycle by building a reliable, diversified supplier with broad capabilities."

 

Financing for the acquisition was provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Legal advice was provided by Schulte Roth & Zabel.