CAE Expands into Crew Management and Optimization Software with Merlot Acquisition

On Dec. 22, CAE announced the acquisition of Merlot Aero Limited (Merlot) for $25 million, plus additional consideration of up to $10 million in the form of an earn-out. The acquisition marks CAE's expansion into digital flight crew management and represents an important milestone in the Company's goal to unify the digital flight operations ecosystem.

The acquisition of Merlot's industry-leading crew optimization software allows CAE to provide an end-to-end offering of digitally-enabled crew performance software and expertise that extends from training through optimized crew operations and is unrivaled in the industry.

"This acquisition further expands our reach beyond pilot training and into the rapidly growing market for digitally-enabled crew optimization services. As we demonstrated with our acquisitions of FSC, TRU Canada, and now Merlot, we are focused on deploying the capital we recently raised to strengthen our position and expand our suite of solutions for our aviation customers," said Marc Parent, CAE president and CEO. "We are thrilled to integrate Merlot's capabilities and expertise in crew optimization technology to serve global operators as they look for flight operations efficiencies."

The unprecedented disruption caused by COVID has only accelerated customer demand for these services and the acquisition of Merlot marks another milestone in CAE's journey to pioneer the development of a digital flight operations ecosystem.