XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce that it served as exclusive advisor to Sentry Aerospace Corporation in its merger with Aerospares 2000 Limited, an Acorn Growth Company.
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Based in Morganville, New Jersey, Sentry is a leading global aftermarket supplier of commercial aircraft spare parts covering a full range of AOG components, including avionics, escape slides, life rafts, and ram air turbines for all major commercial aviation platforms. Sentry was founded in 1975 by Tony DiSimone, Sr. who will serve as Executive Chairman of the combined company.
Headquartered in Greater London, England, Aerospares specializes in identifying, procuring, and stocking the most demanded and hard-to-find rotables for the latest generation aircraft platforms, with a focus on minimum equipment list parts that are ready to ship 24/7.
The combination of Aerospares and Sentry creates a leading independent stocking distributor of high value, hard-to-find commercial aircraft rotable components with global reach and some of the broadest and deepest customer and vendor relationships in the industry. Further, the company has tremendous financial flexibility and access to capital to support its customers’ aircraft material needs as the global aviation market continues its strong recovery.
Acorn Growth Companies, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a middle market private equity firm investing exclusively in Aerospace, Defense, Intelligence, and Space opportunities. Acorn invests solely in businesses that enhance global mobility and strengthen national security. This transaction represents Acorn’s first investment in its recently raised fifth investment fund.
“We were extremely impressed with the guidance provided to us by Joe Contaldo and the XLCS team throughout each phase of the process,” said Chris DiSimone, Sentry CFO. “His desire to understand our personal goals, along with knowledge of our business and the key players in the aerospace industry, were vital to the success of this deal. Joe was there every step of the way and we truly believe found the perfect fit in Aerospares 2000.”
“Sentry and Aerospares together are a powerful combination and we are very excited to see what the future holds,” said Joe Contaldo, Partner and Head of XLCS’ Aerospace & Defense Practice Group. “We are also very grateful to the DiSimone family for letting us play a small role in the great history of Sentry Aerospace.”