Warburg Mulls Sale Of Camp Systems

Warburg Pincus is seeking to sell Camp Systems International, a software provider for business aircraft that could be worth $500 million to $600 million, three people familiar with the matter told sister news service Reuters.

Credit Suisse will advise on the sale of Camp Systems, which has about $60 million in EBITDA and could go for about 10x EBITDA, two of these people said. The process is at an early stage and Warburg Pincus has yet to launch the sale, these people said, asking not to be named because the process is not public.

Warburg Pincus, which bought Camp Systems in 2005 for an undisclosed sum, and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Founded in 1967 and based in New York, Camp provides software to track maintenance requirements for corporate aircraft. It is the recommended factory authorized maintenance tracking service provider for Bombardier and Cessna business aircraft and the Boeing Business Jet unit.

The company is likely to draw interest from both private equity and strategic buyers, or companies that operate in the same industry as the seller, one of the sources said.

Camp, with its subscription-based model, is seen as a technology deal in the aviation world and the logical group of buyers may include subscription-based companies like IHS Inc., the source said. Aerospace companies such as Honeywell International Inc. or Rockwell Collins Inc. could also be potentially interested, the source added.

Camp Systems is among several aerospace sector companies that have gone on the auction block in recent months as the industry continues a recovery from the recession of the late 2000s, mainly driven by strong demand in Asia and the Middle East. Underscoring the recovery in commercial aerospace, planemakers announced large orders at the Paris Air Show in June.

Among the assets currently on the block is Consolidated Precision Products Corp., which makes components and sub-assemblies for military and commercial aircraft and is working with Morgan Stanley and Lazard to find a buyer, according to people familiar with the matter. The business also has around $60 million in EBITDA on sales of $260 million, and may go for about 10 times EBITDA, sources said previously.

(Soyoung Kim is a correspondent for Reuters in New York; additional reporting by Megan Davies.)