Private pilot training school sells off 50% stake
Maddocks has advised the founder of Australia's largest private pilot training school on the group’s 50 per cent sale to The Growth Fund.
Firm: Maddocks (founders of Soar Aviation)
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Deal: The founders of Soar Aviation have sold a 50 per cent stake in the company to The Growth Fund.
Value: Undisclosed
Area: M&A
Key players: The Maddocks team advising on the matter was partner Greg Hipwell, senior associates Elizabeth Lilley and Viviane Karoumbalis and lawyer Jessica Leppert.
Deal significance: Soar Aviation was founded in 2012 by current CEO Neel Khokhani. It now has more than 50 instructors and 43 planes based at three airport campuses: Moorabbin Airport and Bendigo Airport in Victoria and Bankstown Airport in NSW.
Soar Aviation partners with the Box Hill Institute to provide the theoretical component of its flight training courses, as well as access to student funding, according to a statement from Maddocks.
Commenting further on the transaction, Maddocks partner Greg Hipwell said the firm was “perfectly placed to assist Mr Khokhani and Soar Aviation with this matter”.
“Maddocks has an established history of working closely with founders who are looking either to exit or bring investors into their business, as well a strong focus on the education sector,” Mr Hipwell said.
"We recently acted for the founders of the Manly Fast Ferry on their divestment of the company to NRMA, the founders of Camp Australia on their sale to Bain Capital and for Swinburne University of Technology on the sale of 30 per cent of its stake in Online Education Services to SEEK.
“We are very pleased to have assisted Soar Aviation on this strategic move to continue to grow the business.”