Squire Patton Boggs has advised HEICO Corporation (NYSE: HEI and HEI.A), the technology-driven aerospace, industrial, defense and electronics company, on the acquisition by its Flight Support Group of Cook Defence Systems and related entities to form HEICO-Cook Defence ("HCD").
HEICO owns 80% of HCD, with the selling entity, William Cook Holdings, retaining 20% ownership. Managing Director William Cook will continue to lead the Company's operations along with the existing management team. Transaction terms and financial details were not disclosed.
The Squire Patton Boggs team advising HEICO was led by Corporate partner Tony Reed and involved lawyers from the Paris, London, Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham offices.
Cook Defence Systems is an independent designer and manufacturer of track systems for armored fighting vehicles. The company is an acknowledged specialist in the design, testing, manufacture, and supply of mission-critical systems comprising tracks, sprockets, running gear and associated components. Created in its current form in 1994 by Sir Andrew Cook CBE and operating from a purpose-built facility in Stanhope, UK, Cook Defence Systems has developed proprietary engineering and manufacturing capabilities that position it as a critical link in the global defense supply chain. The company is a long-standing supplier to national ministries of defense and a key partner to leading global defense original equipment manufacturers, supporting both new vehicle production and long-term aftermarket replacement demand.
HEICO Corporation is engaged primarily in the design, production, servicing and distribution of products and services to certain niche segments of the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries through its Hollywood, Florida-based Flight Support Group and its Miami, Florida-based Electronic Technologies Group. HEICO's customers include a majority of the world's airlines and overhaul shops, as well as numerous defense and space contractors and military agencies worldwide, in addition to medical, telecommunications and electronics equipment manufacturers.
Charles Fabry, Corporate partner in the firm’s Paris office, said, “We are delighted to assist our much valued client HEICO with this strategic transaction that creates an important new addition to the global business in HEICO-Cook Defence.”
