Magnum Capital and Artá Capital merge aircraft MRO businesses to create Spain's largest independent maintenance group in €150m deal

Spanish private equity firms Magnum Capital and Artá Capital have agreed to merge their respective aircraft maintenance businesses, Aeronáutica de Gestión (AG) and Aviaction, to form what is described as Spain's largest independent MRO group serving both commercial and executive aviation. The transaction is valued at more than €150 million, according to market sources. The combined entity, whose name has not yet been decided, is expected to generate revenues exceeding €50 million and an EBITDA of approximately €15 million.

Magnum Capital acquired AG in January, while Aviaction has been part of Artá Capital's portfolio since late last year. Under the merger terms, Magnum Capital and Artá Capital will each hold similar stakes, together controlling approximately 90% of the new group. José Capilla, founder of AG and incoming executive chairman, will hold around 10%. Juan Antonio Carrasco, CEO of Aviaction, will serve as chief executive of the merged group, reporting to the executive chairman.

The new group will employ more than 500 people and offer services spanning cabin design and maintenance, component repair, line maintenance and technical cleaning across commercial and executive aviation. The deal has been notified to Spain's competition authority, the CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia), and is expected to close within the coming months. Legal advisers on the transaction included A&O Shearman, Andersen, Eversheds Sutherland and Herbert Smith Freehills.

Private equity owners combining two portfolio companies into one larger platform is a familiar route to scale in maintenance, repair and overhaul: rather than compete for the same technicians, hangar space and contracts, the sponsors merge lines and split ownership, betting that combined revenue and margin outperform the sum of the parts. Here that means a group with revenues above €50 million and EBITDA near €15 million, spanning cabin work, component repair, line maintenance and technical cleaning for both commercial and executive customers — a broader service mix than either AG or Aviaction offered alone.

Independent MRO groups compete against manufacturer-owned and airline-owned shops partly on breadth of capability and partly on being able to serve both airline fleets and business-jet operators from one organisation. Combining AG and Aviaction under a single leadership structure, with Juan Antonio Carrasco as chief executive and José Capilla as executive chairman, is the mechanism for building that breadth in one step rather than years of organic growth.

The CNMC review is the next formal checkpoint: competition clearance, expected within the coming months, will determine whether the merger closes as structured. Until that decision, the final name, organisational structure and any remedies the regulator might require remain open.