AAR has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 65% controlling interest in MRO Holdings at an implied enterprise value of USD 4 billion. This represents 10.7 x MRO Holdings’ forecasted full calendar year 2026 adjusted EBITDA, including USD 75 million in anticipated run-rate cost synergies and net of transaction-related tax benefits with an expected present value of approximately USD 150 million.
The transaction will expand and strengthen AAR’s leading aviation aftermarket platform and create significant additional growth opportunities across the company’s core parts, repair and software activities. The combination creates advantages for AAR’s customers as the company will offer a broader range of maintenance solutions.
MRO Holdings is a leading global provider of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) with more than four decades of experience. Through its team of approximately 10,000 professionals and 115 lines of airframe maintenance capacity, MRO Holdings performs aircraft maintenance and modifications across its extensive network in the Americas, with facilities in El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia, and the United States. Approximately 90% of MRO Holdings’ revenue is from sales to US customers.
John M Holmes, Chairman, President and CEO of AAR, said: “Over the last several years, AAR has taken important steps to reshape our portfolio into an integrated parts, repair and software aviation aftermarket platform. Heavy maintenance is a foundational element of this platform, driving revenue to all other areas of the company. Through the acquisition of MRO Holdings, we will create the largest heavy maintenance MRO in the world, servicing a combined total of nearly 3,000 aircraft per year in our hangars.
“As a result of this scale, we expect to drive additional volume through our component MRO facilities, we will have a much larger channel for new and existing OEM distribution relationships, and we will have additional avenues for data collection supporting our software business. In addition, we see more growth opportunities for the heavy maintenance business itself, including widebody maintenance and increased capture of European and Middle Eastern fleets for service in the Americas.”
Image: AAR/MRO Holdings
