NEW YORK, April 5 - Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York merchant bank, said today a private equity investment fund it manages had completed the acquisition of AMR Services, a subsidiary of AMR Corporation, the parent of American Airlines.
The company has been renamed Worldwide Flight Services, Inc., Castle Harlan said. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Worldwide Flight Services is one of the world's leading providers of ground services for more than 200 airlines at some 65 major airports around the world. It had revenues in 1998 of approximately $230 million.
The company employs close to 8,000 people worldwide. The airports it serves include Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark in the New York area, O'Hare in Chicago, Charles DeGaulle and Orly in Paris and the new Chek Lap Kok international airport in Hong Kong.
The acquisition was made by Castle Harlan Partners III, a $630 million limited partnership for private equity investments that was organized and is managed by Castle Harlan.
Marcel Fournier, a Castle Harlan managing director, expressed confidence that "the company is poised for significant growth."
"Worldwide Flight Services is a company of the highest quality with strong and experienced management, dedicated employees and a portfolio of outstanding customers," he said.
He added that Castle Harlan intends to promote the company's growth, both in the United States and in Europe, "where we already have a strong foundation."
"We will work to broaden our customer base," he said, "and we will also look for additional acquisitions."
Peter A. Pappas, who has headed AMR Services since last fall and had been with AMR Corp. for 20 years, is continuing as president and chief executive officer of Worldwide Flight Services. He expressed enthusiasm over the new ownership.
"Castle Harlan has an outstanding track record of providing strong support for the companies in which it invests," he said, "and this promises significant benefits to our customers and our employees. The future, indeed, looks bright."
Among the services that Worldwide Flight Services provides are passenger check-in and ticketing, passenger boarding, cargo loading and unloading and cargo facilities management, and ramp services such as aircraft arrival and pushback and cabin cleaning. Technical services include maintenance support for aircraft, ground equipment and passenger loading bridges, fueling services and fuel farm management.
Pappas pointed out that Castle Harlan has past experience in the aviation industry. It previously owned MAG Aerospace Industries, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of aircraft sanitation systems and trash compactors, and Smarte Carte Inc., the world's leading airport baggage cart company, which it sold in 1996. Both companies enjoyed substantial growth while they were owned by Castle Harlan.
Castle Harlan Partners III is one of several investment funds with committed capital totaling more than $1 billion that have been managed by Castle Harlan, Inc., and that represent major corporate and public pension funds, college endowments, foundations and individual investors. Since Castle Harlan's founding in 1987, the firm has completed acquisitions exceeding $3.5 billion.
Castle Harlan's portfolio companies have included Delaware Management Company, a Philadelphia money-management firm with more than $40 billion in assets under management; Indspec Chemical Corporation, a specialty chemical manufacturer; Universal Compression, one of the world's largest providers of natural gas compression equipment and services; Statia Terminals Group N.V., one of the world's largest independent marine terminal companies, and Truck Components, Inc., the largest manufacturer and marketer of wheel-end components for heavy-duty trucks.