Proposed Landmark Aviation Sale to Dubai Firm Gets Long Look
Neither DAE nor the Carlyle Group is saying much beyond regulatory filings about Carlyle's plan to sell Landmark and Standard Aero Holdings, based in Canada, for about $1.8 billion.
At one point in the spring of 1997, there were two announcements in three weeks of corporate ownership changes at the former Garrett Aviation.
The Springfield-based operation, now known as LANDMARK AVIATION, specializes in refurbishing and remodeling of corporate aircraft. It is one of the largest employers at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport.
Ownership changes seem to have come every few years since the forerunner of Garrett was set up at the then-Capital Airport in the 1960s. It has been less than three years since The Carlyle Group, a private investment company, purchased Garrett from General Electric Co. and changed the name to Landmark Aviation.
But the latest proposed sale is considerably more complicated and eventually could transfer ownership to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, a subsidiary of the same company involved in the 2006 controversy about the parent company's proposed purchase of U.S. shipping facilities.
Neither DAE nor the Carlyle Group is saying much beyond regulatory filings about Carlyle's plan to sell Landmark and Standard Aero Holdings, based in Canada, for about $1.8 billion. Neither company returned phone calls or e-mails last week.
Landmark Aviation, based in Tempe, Ariz., has 43 locations in North America, including Springfield.
The next step for the proposed sale is through the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The committee is responsible for reviewing proposed foreign purchases of domestic operations that could affect national security. Department representatives also declined to discuss specifics of the proposed sale, other than to confirm an approximately 90-day review process has begun.
A general outline of the process provided by the department indicated reviews include whether the domestic production is needed for national defense, the possible effect on the nation's technological leadership, whether military goods are involved or whether equipment involved might somehow be used against the United States.
The proposed sale has caused nowhere near the kind of opposition that resulted from last year's plan by Dubai Ports World to acquire U.S. shipping facilities as part of the purchase of a British shipping company. DPW eventually agreed to sell the domestic facilities to a U.S.-controlled company.
Even so, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told the RTTNews financial news service earlier this month the proposed DAE/Carlyle sale should get a thorough review.
"This purchase is not as much of a security risk as Dubai Ports World, but because it deals with maintenance of aircraft, it certainly raises security questions," Schumer was quoted as saying. The companies expect to complete the sale by this fall, subject to federal approval.
News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.
