AFCO Management owns 29 assets in 15 airports in USA and the UK. Goldman Sachs Alternatives purchased the asset in 2018
Ardian is close to acquiring from Goldman Sachs Alternatives (GS Alternatives) a controlling stake in Aviation Facilities Company Management (AFCO), an US firm based in Dulles, Virginia, which is active in the investment, development, management and operation of cargo real estate facilities at airports and other airport infrastructure. The company owns 29 properties in 15 airports in USA and the UK (see here the press release).
DC Advisory and Gibson Dunn are assisting Ardian. RBC Capital Markets LLC, Eastdil Secured LLC and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP are advising Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
Gerald T. Halpin, chairman and ceo, and Francis X. Chambers, Jr., vicechairman of West Group Management, founded AFCO in 1992. West Group Management invested in a 1.46 million sqft office building in Virginia’s Tysons Corner where Freddie Mac, Gannett and BDM set their headquarters.
Chuck Stipancic is the chairman and ceo of AFCO since the company acquired US competitor Avports from Macquarie Aviation in 2009. In 2018, Goldman Sachs Infrastructure invested in AFCO through West Street Infrastucture Partners III (press release).
Stipancic said: “We appreciate the supportive partnership we had with Goldman Sachs Alternatives over the past seven years. We carried on a number of value-creating initiatives, including an innovative financing structure that has allowed us to invest in existing facilities and strategically expand our portfolio through new acquisitions and developments, creating cost-effective solutions for our airport partners and tenants. Looking ahead, we are excited about our new relationship with Ardian and look forward to drawing on the team’s experience as a global operator and international leader in essential infrastructure, including transport and aviation, as we continue to grow our business”.
Stefano Mion, Ardian senior managing director and co-head of Infrastructure Americas, added: “We look forward to partnering with AFCO and using the experience, knowledge and relationships that the management team developed over the past 30 years in the airport infrastructure sector. We want to build further on the company’s solid foundation and accelerate its growth. On behalf of Ardian, we look forward to working closely with AFCO’s management team in this exciting next chapter of the partnership”.
Leonarda Orani, Ardian managing director, concluded: “This investment builds on our strategic initiative to expand in the infrastructure and aviation markets. Ardian launched this initiative two decades ago and has since held and divested investments in London Luton and 2i Airports. It also recently acquired the largest share of London Heathrow. AFCO is the ideal partner as we continue to expand globally our industry presence, particularly in the US and the wider Americas region, and focus on acquiring strategic infrastructure assets with a proven track record”.
Teresa Mattamouros, a managing director for Infrastructures at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, said: “We are pleased to have partnered with AFCO since 2018 and to have supported the company in accelerating its growth and strengthening its position as a leader in the on-airport cargo storage industry in North America. Such business area proven features that are resilient infrastructure and capable of facing the evolution of market environment. We invested in AFCO on a bilateral and proprietary basis and the deal granted unique access to attractive infrastructure opportunities that our One Goldman Sachs franchise provides. We wish the management team and Ardian success in the next phase of their journey.”
