From todays Aberdeen Press & JournalCHC to sell off non-oil trade
by Jeremy Cresswell
CHC Helicopter Corporation is selling the non-oil portion of its UK-based operations for £35.5 million to a group of former company employees led by Tony Jones, a senior figure in the North Sea sector for many years.
The deal is expected to be completed in a few weeks and includes the transfer of the British International name, which fell out of use following the merger of Bond Helicopters into CHC subsidiary British International – to create Scotia.
In a statement issued last night, CHC said: "Equity and debt financing commitments have been arranged by the purchaser and it is expected the transaction will complete late March subject to due diligence and standard closing conditions."
Transferring to the new company will be:
Scotia's scheduled Penzance-Scilly Isles service.
Operations for the Ministry of Defence in Plymouth and the Falkland Islands.
Light helicopter operations of Veritair based in Cardiff.
Aircraft included in the deal comprise eight S61Ns, two Eurocopter type AS 365 N2 units and a pair of light helicopters.
CHC chairman Craig Dobbin said: "This transaction is consistent with CHC's long-term strategy to aggressively reduce debt and will better enable CHC to pursue other core activities in Europe and the world."
Mr Jones, who has served with Bristow Helicopters and CHC through British International could not be contacted last night.
Dave Hogg of pilot's union Balpa said: "We will be seeking to protect the interests of members as more information becomes available."