Rockwell Collins agreed on Sunday to buy Arinc, a maker of commercial flight systems, from the Carlyle Group for $1.39 billion.
The deal is meant to augment Rockwell Collins’ aviation information management offerings. It will also further move the company away from government work and into commercial work: the latter will represent 54 percent of Rockwell Collins’ business after the transaction is completed.
Arinc is expected to report more than $600 million in revenue for 2013.
“Strategically, this acquisition is a natural fit for Rockwell Collins,†Kelly Ortberg, Rockwell Collins’ chief executive, said in a statement. “It accelerates our strategy to develop comprehensive information management solutions by building on our existing information-enabled products and systems and ARINC’s ground-based networks and services to further expand our opportunities beyond the aircraft.â€
Sunday’s deal is also the latest effort by a private equity firm to sell off portfolio companies to cash out on its investments, either through a merger or an initial public offering. Carlyle officials have indicated that the firm will focus on divesting existing holdings slightly more than buying new businesses, taking advantage of high company valuations.
Carlyle, which bought Arinc in the fall of 2007, had run a sales process in recent weeks that reportedly drew the interest of a number of strategic buyers.
Rockwell Collins was advised by Citigroup.
