Liberty Hall Capital Partners Acquires Ferra Holdings Limited

Leading Supplier of Highly Engineered, Complex and Advanced Components and Sub-Systems Business Becomes Sixth Firm to Integrate into Accurus Aerospace Platform

Liberty Hall Capital Partners (“Liberty Hall”), a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry, announced today the acquisition of Ferra Holdings Limited (“Ferra”) by Accurus Aerospace Corporation (“Accurus”), a leading global supplier of highly engineered structural parts, complex assemblies and electromechanical subsystems to the global aerospace industry focused on the highest value and fastest growing commercial, business jet, military aerospace and space platforms. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“The acquisition of Ferra is highly strategic and transformational for Accurus,” said Rowan Taylor, Liberty Hall’s founding and Managing Partner. “The combination creates a truly global, more diversified and balanced business with expanded capabilities allowing us to better serve all of our customers – whether commercial aerospace, military aerospace or space customers – across the globe.”

Robert Kirkpatrick, President and CEO of Accurus, said: “The acquisition of Ferra expands our complex and advanced manufacturing capabilities, extends our geographic presence and creates greater end market, customer and platform balance. The ‘new’ Accurus is a highly differentiated aerospace supplier with a global manufacturing footprint and strategic relevance to our customers and serves as a partner of choice for complex and advanced manufacturing work statements.”

Brisbane, Australia-based Ferra is a leading global provider of highly engineered, complex and advanced components, sub-systems and assemblies for the military aerospace and commercial aerospace end markets and serves as a strategic supplier to several key industry original equipment manufacturers as well as the Australian Department of Defence. Founded in 1992, Ferra operates four manufacturing facilities located in Australia, the United States and India with approximately 200 employees. Ferra’s largest customers are The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin, and its largest platforms are the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the Ghost Bat (formerly known as the Loyal Wingman).

Ferra’s existing management team, led by Managing Director Aaron Thompson, will remain in their roles following the acquisition. “We are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished over our thirty-year history, and we are excited to partner with Accurus in order to accelerate growth across our core business areas,” said Mr. Thompson. “We look forward to leveraging Accurus’s resources, relationships and manufacturing excellence to continue to expand sovereign supply chain capability within Australia, better serve our strategic partners, including the Australian Department of Defence, and further penetrate the military aerospace and space end markets,” he added.

Lazard served as financial advisor and equity placement agent to Liberty Hall and Accurus. Equity financing was provided by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and Northleaf Capital Partners. Legal advice to Liberty Hall and Accurus was provided by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, MintnerEllison and Schulte Roth & Zabel.

Friday Capital served as financial advisor to Ferra and the seller. Legal advice was provided by Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. and Osborne Clarke.

About Liberty Hall Capital Partners
Liberty Hall Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in businesses serving the global aerospace and defense industry. Liberty Hall’s principals have a 25-plus year history of working together and have led the investment of over $2.5 billion in equity capital in over 25 businesses serving multiple segments of the aerospace and defense industry. Liberty Hall was founded in July 2011 as the first, and remains the only, private equity firm focused solely on investments in middle market businesses serving the aerospace and defense industry. Liberty Hall executes a proven and repeatable investment strategy designed to transform middle market businesses into larger, more capable and diverse strategic assets. For more information, please visit http://www.libertyhallcapital.com/.

About Accurus Aerospace Corporation
Accurus Aerospace Corporation is a leading global supplier of highly engineered structural parts, complex assemblies and electromechanical subsystems to the global aerospace industry focused on the highest value and fastest growing commercial, business jet, military aerospace and space platforms. Accurus was formed in November 2013 by Liberty Hall Capital Partners and has since completed six acquisitions, including Precise Machining & Manufacturing (2013), McCann Aerospace Machining (2014), LaCroix Industries (2015), J&M Machine (2016), ZTM (2016) and Ferra Holdings. Accurus operates eight manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Australia and India and possesses highly complementary capabilities that allows the company to deliver its products to its customers with optimal cost, quality and delivery. For more information, please visit: https://www.accurusaero.com/.

For Liberty Hall:
Rowan Taylor
Liberty Hall Capital Partners
P: +1-(646)-291-2602
rtaylor@libertyhallcapital.com

For Accurus:
Robert Kirkpatrick
Chief Executive Officer
P: +1-(918)-221-0689
rkirkpatrick@accurusaero.com

For US Media:
Nneka Etoniru
FTI Consulting
P: +1-(332)-213-7903
nneka.etoniru@fticonsulting.com

For Australia Media:
David Whitely
FTI Consulting
P: +61-475-110-928
david.whitely@fticonsulting.com

SOURCE: Liberty Hall Capital Partners