AC&A acquires Applied Composites Engineering

Terms of the transaction – which closed November 1, 2017 – were not disclosed. AC&A is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners (AEI), a private equity investor specializing in aerospace, power generation, and specialty industrial companies.

Located in Indianapolis, Indiana ACE provides advanced composites solutions to many of the most well-known aerospace and defense original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

“ACE is a perfect fit with AC&A, combining our complementary set of composites engineering and manufacturing capabilities,” said Leigh Sargent, President of ACE. “As part of AC&A, and backed by AEI’s deep industry experience and financial resources, we will be able to provide even greater value to our customers and significantly increase our growth.”

“AC&A has accelerated its investments in growth through our partnership with AEI, including facility expansions, new equipment and now strategic acquisitions,” said Justin Uchida, CEO of AC&A. “We are excited about the ACE acquisition which will expand our capabilities, enable us to better serve our customers and greatly enhance our competitive market position.”

“Advanced composites represent a large and growing opportunity within AEI’s target markets,” said Jon Nemo, Partner of AEI. “We are building a unique composites platform with strong leadership, scale and highly specialized engineering, design and manufacturing capabilities designed to serve our diverse and growing set of customers. We expect to continue to build this platform organically and through additional highly strategic acquisitions.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP served as financial advisor to AE Industrial Partners. John Rowell of Aaron, Bell International acted as ACE’s exclusive M&A advisor.