(Bloomberg) -- Carlyle Group Inc. has decided to take StandardAero Inc. public after trying to sell the aircraft maintenance services provider, according to people familiar with the matter.
The alternative asset manager decided to pursue an initial public offering of StandardAero because bids submitted this week valued the company below what it’s expected to reach in a listing, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information was private.
Potential suitors had been weighing bids for StandardAero in a transaction that could have valued the company at $10 billion, Bloomberg News reported in July. By this week, Bain Capital and Stonepeak were the remaining bidders in the process, the people said.
StandardAero, which was pursuing a so-called dual track, filed Friday for an IPO. Details of Carlyle’s plans for StandardAero could still change, the people added. Carlyle might also reconsider if it receives any improved bids for the company, one of the people said.
Representatives for Carlyle and Stonepeak declined to comment, while StandardAero and Bain didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
StandardAero is the largest pure-play provider of aerospace engine after-market services for fixed and rotary wing aircraft, serving the commercial, military and business aviation end markets, according to its filing. Customers include GE Aerospace, Honeywell International Inc. and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc.
The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that it had a profit through the first half of the year, reversing earlier annual losses. For the first half of the year, StandardAero had net income of $8.6 million on revenue of $2.6 billion. That compared with a loss of about $12.6 million on $2.3 billion in revenue during the same period in 2023.
The company won’t set proposed terms for an IPO until a later filing, when underwriters are ready to begin marketing the shares.
Carlyle completed its purchase of StandardAero from Veritas in 2019. A statement at the time didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal. Carlyle will continue to control the company after the IPO, according to the filing.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley have been advising StandardAero on its options and are listed in the filing as the two lead banks for the IPO.
Bank of America Corp., UBS Group AG, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Royal Bank of Canada are also among the total of 17 book-running managers and co-managers. StandardAero plans for its shares to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SARO.
--With assistance from Bailey Lipschultz.
(Updates with customer names in sixth paragraph. An earlier version corrected the stock exchange symbol to SARO from OARS in last paragraph)
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