ICV Partners Announces Sale of Consolidated Aviation Services
ICV Partners Announces Sale of Consolidated Aviation Services
NEW YORK, March 2, 2016 – ICV Partners, LLC (ICV), a leading investment firm focused on investing in lower middle market companies, announced today the sale of its portfolio company Consolidated Aviation Services (CAS) to Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), one of the world’s largest cargo and ground handlers. WFS is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. The sale by ICV concludes a very successful partnership with Michael Duffy, the CEO of CAS, and the entire CAS management team.
Headquartered at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), CAS is the largest cargo handler in North America with over 5,000 employees and operations at 45 airports. CAS provides cargo, passenger ramp, and express handling services to over 120 international airlines and integrators. The company couples great execution with superior customer service, handling over 1.5 billion kilos per year. ICV acquired Cargo Airport Services in 2011, which was rebranded as Consolidated Aviation Services in 2013.
Zeena Rao, a Managing Director of ICV said, “We accomplished all the objectives we and the CAS management team outlined early in our partnership. Since 2011, CAS expanded from 12 to 45 airport locations, won dozens of new customers, expanded into Latin America, and added service lines and capabilities that cemented its position as a leading ground handler. We invested in people, equipment and processes and more than doubled revenue in five years. We are very happy to have partnered with Mike Duffy and his team, which is a great example of how we work together to build market leading businesses.”
Michael Duffy, CEO of CAS, said, “ICV understood what we were trying to achieve from the first day of our partnership. They listened to our aspirations for growth and expansion and helped us navigate the path to success. ICV allowed for over 30 members of the management team to invest in the transaction, which further cemented our culture of ownership and care for the customer, which I believe helped make the difference between us and the competition.”
Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor and BB&T Capital Markets and Lazard Middle Market acted as financial Advisors to Consolidated Aviation Services.
About ICV Partners
Founded in 1998, ICV Partners is a leading private investment firm that supports management leaders of strong companies at the lower end of the middle market. The principals of ICV have crafted a strong track record of helping companies improve performance over the long term and across a variety of industries. ICV seeks to make control investments in market leading businesses with $25 million to $250 million in revenue. Additional information is available at www.icvpartners.com.