09.01.2023 - 04:00 UTC
Houston-based Perea Capital, LLC, the investment manager of Perea Capital Partners, LP, has acquired a 5.25% stake in Rex - Regional Express (ZL, Wagga Wagga) in what is the first major investment by a US private equity firm in the airline.
In a December 1, 2022, filing with the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), Perea Capital's managing partner Omar Musa said the entity had purchased 5,913,739 shares in Regional Express Holdings in a series of on and off-market trades in the preceding four months. In the process, Perea became a substantial shareholder (5% or more) and triggered a mandatory reporting requirement. On Friday, January 6, 2023, Regional Express Holdings Limited shares are trading at AUD1.45 Australian dollars (USD0.98) on the ASX, valuing Perea's investment on the day at AUD8,574,922 (USD5,797,450).
Also on December 1, Ming Yew See Toh and Hui Ing Tjoa told the ASX that they'd ceased to be substantial shareholders after selling a parcel of 4,200,000 ordinary shares in an off-market sale worth AUD6,216,000 (USD4,202,917) on November 28. Perea Capital was the buyer and...
04.01.2023 - 23:21 UTC
Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Regional (Adelaide) has confirmed its rebranding to National Jet Express (NJE) five months after the acquisition of the business by Rex - Regional Express (ZL, Wagga Wagga) sister firm Rex Freight and Charter Pty Ltd (RFC).
The NJE airline brand is over 30 years old but fell into disuse after a rebranding to Cobham Aviation Services Australia in 2009. NJE is a separate entity to the Qantas Groupwned National Jet Systems (NJS). When RFC finalized the acquisition of NJE in September 2022, the airline said it would revive the NJE brand.
Acquired by the US-based private equity firm Advent International in early 2020, Cobham Group was operating two distinct but successful businesses - a special missions arm that primarily operated surveillance flights for the Australian government, and an ad-hoc and contracted fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) charter business. In 2022, Advent sold off the special missions business to Leidos and the charter business to Regional Express who paid AUD48 million dollars (USD32.3 million) to...
23.11.2022 - 05:38 UTC
Aviair (GD, Kununurra) is to lease an unspecified number of DHC-8-Q400s from Nordic Aviation Capital to bolster its burgeoning regular passenger transport (RPT) operations in Western Australia (WA). The deal represents a big step up for the small airline that plies its trade up and down the WA coast using a fleet of GippsAero GA8 Airvans, Pilatus PC-12s, Beech (twin turboprop) B200s, and Cessna (single turboprop) 208 Grand Caravans.
In addition to doing brisk business running charter and sightseeing operations on Australia's northwest coast, Aviair operates one "lightly regulated" RPT route - Kununurra - Kalumburu, and three fully regulated RPT routes - Kununurra - Halls Creek - Balgo Hill; Karratha - Broome - Newman - Port Hedland; and Derby, WA - Broome. Lightly regulated routes are open to competition and subject to WA Department of Transport supervision while fully regulated routes provide sole operator status.
Aviair, which has its RPT routes to itself, secured AUD4 million (USD2.65 million) via the...
23.11.2022 - 02:05 UTC
Australia's National Capital Authority (NCA) continues to develop its plans for Sydney Seaplanes (Sydney Rose Bay) to begin daily amphibious commuter flights between Australia's biggest city and the country's national capital. The proposal, which dates back to 2019, was derailed by the pandemic but flights are approved and a recent NCA media roundtable suggests the concept still has life left in it.
The NCA is eyeing twice daily roundtrips between Sydney Seaplanes' Rose Bay terminal on Sydney Harbour and a yet-to-be-developed jetty/pontoon extension at Acton Peninsula on Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin. The anticipated flying time is one hour. The NCA is a federal government agency that helps plan, promote, maintain, and enhance the character of Australia's quirky national capital.
The NCA told the November 15 roundtable that it supports the proposed flights subject to the planes using the lake safely, having the appropriate permits from Australia's Civil Aviation and Safety Authority (CASA), and the development of appropriate infrastructure on Lake Burley Griffin. Westerly takeoff and easterly landing, including daylight approach paths to/from 1,000 metres above...
