Supply chain services company Agility has finalised its acquisition of John Menzies and will combine the business with its National Aviation Services (NAS) business.
Once integrated, the combined company will operate as Menzies Aviation and will be the world’s largest aviation services company by number of countries and second largest by number of airports served.
The combined company will provide air cargo services, fuel services and ground services at airports on six continents.
The combined revenues of Menzies and NAS exceeded $1.5bn in 2021. The new company will have approximately 35,000 employees and operations at 254 airports in 58 countries, handling 600,000 aircraft turns, two million tonnes of air cargo and 2.5 million fuelling turns per year.
The company’s customers will include Air Canada, Air China, Air France-KLM, America Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, EasyJet, Emirates, IAG, Jazeera, Qantas Group, Qatar Airways, Southwest, Turkish, United Airlines, WestJet and Wizz Air.
Menzies Aviation chief executive Philipp Joeinig, who will be chief executive of the combined company, commented: “Agility’s backing gives us the resources to provide innovative solutions for growing and forward-thinking customers, and to develop our talent, technology, and sustainability; critical factors for our future success.
“It also means we are well-positioned to support our customers in tackling supply chain challenges and labor shortages.”
“Menzies and NAS will create the world leader in aviation services,” said Hassan El-Houry, who becomes chairman of the combined company, having previously held the role of NAS chief executive.
“We will have the scale and resources to expand and grow as the industry recovers from the pandemic - commercial aviation is a key engine of global economic growth, and our customers need partners they can count on as flight volumes return.”
Agility vice chairman Tarek Sultan added: “By acquiring Menzies and combining it with NAS, Agility has the opportunity to unlock greater value in both.
“Agility has a strong track record of sustainable and responsible growth over the last two decades, driven both organically and through mergers and acquisitions, and this latest deal is part of our strategy to further accelerate that growth.”
After some back and forth, the boards of Agility and Menzies reached an agreement 30 March on a cash offer to acquire 100% of Menzies ordinary shares, which traded on the London Stock Exchange for 608 pence a share.
The deal values Menzies at approximately £571m on a fully diluted basis and approximately £763m on an enterprise value basis.
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