Leonardo to buy Kopter for US$185 million

Italian helicopter maker Leonardo said it has signed a contract with Lynwood (Schweiz) AG to acquire 100 percent of the Swiss helicopter maker Kopter Group. Leonardo said in announcing the acquisition that it will allow Leonardo to benefit from Kopter’s work and engineering and said Kopter’s SH09 single-engine helicopter “is a perfect fit for Leonardo’s state-of-the-art product range offering opportunities for future technological developments”. Within the Helicopter Division of Leonardo, Kopter will act as an autonomous legal entity and “competence centre”, Leonardo said. The purchase price, on a cash and debt-free basis, consists of a US$185 million fixed component plus an earn-out mechanism linked to certain milestones over the life of the programme, starting from 2022. The closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions and is expected to take place during the first quarter of 2020. Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo CEO, said: “By this deal we confirm our commitment to strengthening Leonardo’s core business and sustaining our leadership in key areas. With this acquisition we will bring on board innovative skills and technologies that will complement our own and will also contribute to keeping us at the forefront of innovation and competitiveness whilst maintaining our financial solidity.” Marina Groenberg, CEO of Lynwood, stated: “Lynwood is very proud to have strongly supported the development of Kopter and its SH09 programme over the past 10 years. It is now the right time for Leonardo to take over as they are a perfect match for Kopter at this stage of development.”