Vector Aerospace Corp. (TSX: RNO), which has locations in Richmond and Langley, is set to be acquired by EADS (EUR: EAD) subsidiary Eurocopter Holding.
The $625 million deal, announced yesterday, values Vector’s shares at $13 each, 15% higher than the stock’s March 25 closing price.
“I think [the deal] bodes well for the company for the future; we’re very excited about it,” Vector CEO Declan O’Shea said yesterday in a conference call. “The manner in which Eurocopter wants to integrate Vector into the business is very much at arm’s length; they want to keep us as an independent multi-platform service provider.”
He added that Eurocopter wants to keep the Vector brand name – a decision that O’Shea called “very positive for our employees and associates who have created that brand name.”
“We may have come up with the name, but it’s our employees who live our missions and values and the customers who enjoy that and we fully intend to ensure that we live up to all of those through this time.”
O’Shea noted that last year, Vector’s board appointed a special committee to look at strategic alternatives and, recruiting Scotiabank (TSX: BNS) in an advisory role, determined that “a sale process could be the best outcome for Vector Aerospace.”
After “significant interest” in the company from both strategic and financial buyers, O’Shea said, Eurocopter became the frontrunner.
O’Shea could not confirm when the deal is expected to close.