Piper Aircraft announced that its owner, American Capital Ltd., has sold its 100% stake in the company to Imprimis in a private transaction that aims to secure the long-term success of Florida’s 72 year-old General Aviation company. Imprimis is a corporate finance and investment management firm that operates from its offices in Bangkok, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
Imprimis intends to invest significant capital in Piper’s current operations to strengthen its position in its traditional markets and support the development of key new products such as the PiperJet. Imprimis was drawn to Piper because of the significant potential that it sees for Piper to expand its activities into new markets in Asia Pacific, which is expected to experience steady growth for two- to six-seat aircraft over the next five years, in part due to shifting demographics and increasing demand for pilot training from training schools and flying clubs (commercial and private). Outside of long-term plans for growing market share in Asia, the new shareholders are committed to keeping Piper’s headquarters, production and product development facilities in Vero Beach, Fla.
