Bahrain investment house sells its stake in Cirrus

Cirrus has delivered nearly 5,000 new piston airplanes over the last decade.  For nine years in a row, the Cirrus SR22 family of aircraft has been the best-selling four-place airplane in the world. Cirrus pioneered the use of the FAA-certified Cirrus Airframe Parachute System that is standard equipment on all Cirrus aircraft.  

Brent Wouters, Cirrus’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commenting on the transaction, said   “This transaction will have a positive impact on our business and our customers because we share a common vision with CAIGA to grow our general aviation enterprise worldwide.  CAIGA brings new resources that will allow us to expedite our aircraft development programs and accelerate our global expansion.” 

“Through this transaction, CAIGA will invest in our employees in both Minnesota and North Dakota by committing to the continued use of our world-class production facilities.”

CAIGA is a provider of general aircraft products and related services headquartered in Zhuhai in the Guangdong Province of China.  Meng Xiangkai, CAIGA’s president said, “CAIGA is dedicated to being an international leader in the provision of general aviation products and services, and light piston aircraft is one of CAIGA’s business focuses.  Although it was not specifically mentioned in the news release, the transaction could result in an immediate acceleration of Cirrus's long-awaited Vision jet program.

The single-engine jet project has stalled in recent years due to a lack of funding but Wouters has maintained throughout that an injection of investment capital would revive the jet.

For its part, CAIGA says its focusing on the piston market with Cirrus. "We are very optimistic to begin our partnership with Cirrus and add Cirrus's strong brand as the cornerstone in our aviation product portfolio," said CAIGA President Meng Xiangkai said.

Cirrus was founded by Alan and Dale Klapmeier about 12 years ago and Dale Klapmeier is the current chairman. He said he was "thrilled" to make the announcement. "With this transaction, Cirrus will continue to develop and build the best, most exciting aircraft in the world," Klapmeier said. "The original dream remains alive and well at Cirrus. We are just embarking on our next chapter on a global stage."  

The transaction is expected to close around mid-2011.   Arcapita operates out of four offices in Bahrain, Atlanta, London and Singapore. The Bank has a paid-in capital of $311 million, of which 70% is held by over 300 prominent individuals and institutions mostly from the Arabian Gulf region, and the remaining 30% is beneficially held by Arcapita's management.