China, Estonia, Investments, Legislation, Mergers and take-overs, Transport

The CEO of Magnetic MRO, Risto Maeots, told BNS on Friday that the buyer is a listed company and because of that the process of completing the acquisition was a long one. The transaction was finalized on April 20.  

According to Maeots, the change of owner does not bring with it a lot of change for the company. "Nothing will change at this point, they bought the company because of our good results and we will move forward this way. Of course we will start looking at opportunities for expanding towards Asia," he said. "Not a single person has been replaced in connection with the transaction, there will be one additional member of the management board from China. They very much listen to our vision today," Maeots added.

Magnetic MRO, Guangzhou Hangxin and investment company Baltcap announced at the beginning of January that Baltcap and minority shareholders have decided to sell 100 percent of the shares in Magnetic MRO to Guangzhou Hangxin Aviation Technology of China for 43 million euros.

"Magnetic MRO management has been actively looking for opportunities to expand into Asia, the highest growth market in aviation," Maeots said at the time. "Hangxin's location and service portfolio is complementary to Magnetic MRO, creating substantial synergies and new business opportunities. For the management Hangxin is a perfect match and we are thrilled to start working with their highly professional and energetic team."

Kristjan Kalda, chairman of the supervisory board of Magnetic MRO and partner at Baltcap, said that during Baltcap's ownership Magnetic MRO has grown from a small regional player to a profitable global company.

"This is the largest exit transaction in Baltcap's history and proves our ambition to create highly competitive Baltic companies. I would like to thank the fantastic team at Magnetic, this strategic move is definitely a huge leap for the company," Kalda said.

Based in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China, Guangzhou Hangxin Aviation Technology is a privately-owned company providing aircraft component maintenance services. Hangxin services components for over 20 aircraft types and serves over 50 airlines in Asia, Middle East, Europe and North America. Hangxin is listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization over 700 million euros. The management controls 46 percent of the shareholder votes and, along with employees, 61 percent.