Sunday, September 12, 2010

Carlyle to Take ARINC Public, Scraps Sale


Reuters reported:


Private equity firm Carlyle Group has scrapped plans to sell Arinc Inc after failing to find a buyer for the defense and aviation company in the past six months, several people familiar with the matter said.

Instead Carlyle will take ARINC public.


Arinc's earnings have grown 25 percent annually in the past four years, a source close to the company said.

How did the private equity underwriter (PEU) grow earnings with higher interest expenses? How much did they milk ARINC via management fees and special dividends? Did Uncle Sam stimulate ARINC, besides taking much of the risk for early retiree health coverage?

The S-1 should be interesting, if it's anything like Nielsen's.

As The Carlyle Group is bidding for McKechnie Aerospace, Hartwell employees might want to call their peers at ARINC to find out how three years under Carlyle can age people. That's if they don't disappear altogether.

Update 11-11-12:  Carlyle scrapped plans to take ARINC public.  It sold ARINC's defense division to Carlyle affiliate Booz Allen Hamilton for $154 million.   I wonder how much pressure Booz got to monetize a sister Carlyle company?  Only PEU's know for sure.

Update 2-26-13:  Carlyle plans to sell the rest of ARINC, i.e. back to their original plan.