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Greenbriar Equity Group Acquires West Star Aviation from The Sterling Group

via Business Wire

Greenbriar to Leverage Aviation Expertise to Accelerate Growth Strategy of Leading MRO Services Provider

Greenbriar Equity Group, L.P. (“Greenbriar”), announced that funds managed by Greenbriar acquired West Star Aviation (“West Star” or the “Company”), a highly-regarded provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (“MRO”) for business aviation aircraft from The Sterling Group (“Sterling”). Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Since its founding in 1947, West Star has built a reputation as a premier service provider for business aviation. The Company offers comprehensive MRO capabilities across aircraft manufactured by every major OEM and maintains the largest aircraft on ground (“AOG”) technician network nationally, ensuring prompt and reliable mobile repair services. Supported by a deeply knowledgeable and experienced management team, West Star remains focused on delivering excellent customer service and quality.

“In partnership with Sterling, West Star has continuously worked to deliver exceptional service to its customers, while growing to better support the business aviation market,” said Stephen Maiden, CEO of West Star. “As we embark on this next phase, Greenbriar’s extensive experience and proven track-record in expanding aviation aftermarket platforms will be invaluable to us. With their support, we aim to not only accelerate our progress and enhance our capabilities but also ensure that our dedicated employees and the unique needs of our customers remain at the forefront of everything we do.”

“We would like to thank Stephen and the entire West Star team for placing their trust in Sterling and for all of their work in building West Star into a market leader over the past several years,” said John Griffin, Partner at The Sterling Group.

“West Star is an exceptional business with comprehensive capabilities and a strong customer value proposition that aligns with Greenbriar’s strategy of partnering with market leading aviation and aerospace businesses poised for growth,” said Noah Blitzer, Managing Director at Greenbriar. “We are excited to partner with Stephen and his team to continue building on West Star’s legacy as a premier MRO provider delivering high quality service to its customers.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel and Evercore served as financial advisor to Greenbriar. Harris Williams LLC and Jefferies LLC served as co-lead financial advisors to West Star; Solomon Partners also advised on the transaction. Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to West Star.

About West Star Aviation

With more than 78 years of industry experience, West Star Aviation stands as a leading independent Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) provider. Employing over 3,000 professionals, West Star offers comprehensive services from our strategically located full-service facilities in East Alton, IL; Grand Junction, CO; Chattanooga, TN; Millville, NJ; Perryville, MO; and Statesville, NC, as well as multiple satellite locations. The company’s extensive capabilities encompass airframe maintenance, paint, interior, and avionics services, supported by the largest Aircraft On Ground (AOG) technician network in the country, ensuring prompt and reliable mobile repair services nationwide.

About Greenbriar

Greenbriar is a middle market private equity firm with 20+ years of experience investing in market-leading services and manufacturing businesses. With $10+ billion of cumulative capital commitments, its investment strategy targets businesses led by experienced management teams capitalizing on strong long-term growth prospects that can benefit from Greenbriar’s deep sectoral expertise, strategic insight, and operating capabilities. For more information, please visit greenbriarequity.com.

About The Sterling Group

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets investments in manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies at initial formation range from $100 million to $750 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 74 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of over $25 billion. Sterling currently has $9.4 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit www.sterling-group.com.

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