Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (“Bridger”, “the Company” or
“Bridger Aerospace”), (NASDAQ: BAER, BAERW), one of the nation’s
largest aerial firefighting companies, today announced that it has
acquired FMS Aerospace (“FMS”). FMS, based in Huntsville, Alabama,
is a turn-key provider of airframe modification and integration
solutions for government and commercial customers including
instrumentation, flight testing and airworthiness certification.
The consideration for the transaction was $17.51 million in equity,
with an additional contingent equity earn-out consideration of up
to $3.09 million.
“Having partnered with the team at FMS on our
Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) program, which supports our
high-resolution surveillance, mapping, software and intelligence
operations contracts, we appreciate their strong engineering,
modification and manufacturing capabilities,” commented Sam Davis,
Bridger’s Chief Executive Officer. “Bringing FMS into the Bridger
family will bring together two experienced teams and add additional
critical capabilities in house to allow us to continue to grow in
mission critical areas including emergency air services, aerospace
modifications and defense systems engineering.”
Jesse Whitfield, Chief Executive Officer of FMS
added, “Bridger provides the physical facilities, qualified
personnel and other resources we need to grow our business. We
expect that the operational synergies will ultimately allow us to
win larger contracts than either company can bid alone.”
Transaction Highlights The FMS
transaction is an equity-only deal with a total value of $20.6
million with restricted common stock vesting in equal parts over a
two-year period. It includes $17.51 million of restricted common
stock issued at close with an additional $3.09 million to be paid
pro-rata over two years, upon the satisfaction of an EBITDA target.
For the full year ending December 31, 2023, FMS generated $10.3
million of revenue and net income of $2.5 million. FMS had
approximately $2.0 million of cash and no debt at year end
2023.
While the transaction is expected to be
accretive to Bridger earnings on an annual basis after excluding
transaction expenses and before anticipated synergies, the Company
is not updating its guidance at this time.
About FMS Aerospace FMS is
based in Huntsville, AL and was founded in 2013 by engineers
specializing in comprehensive airframe modification and integration
solutions for government and commercial customers. FMS provides
turn-key solutions for aircraft prototyping, integration,
instrumentation and flight testing, and airworthiness
certification. Its focus is on mechanical and electrical design,
structural analysis, fatigue and damage tolerance analysis (DTA),
static and dynamic testing, instrumentation and data acquisition,
flight testing, test data analysis, and airworthiness planning and
certification.
FMS’ staff includes in-house structural and
electrical FAA DERs with approval authority for all Part 23, Part
25, CAR 3 and CAR 4b requirements, each with major repair and major
alteration special delegation. It provides engineering support and
services to a wide range of commercial and government agencies; as
such, FMS maintains working knowledge of airworthiness approval
processes of the FAA, NASA, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air
Force.
About Bridger Aerospace Based
in Belgrade, Montana, Bridger Aerospace is one of the nation’s
largest aerial firefighting companies. Bridger provides aerial
firefighting and wildfire management services to federal and state
government agencies, including the United States Forest Service,
across the nation, as well as internationally. More information
about Bridger Aerospace is available at
https://www.bridgeraerospace.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release are not
historical facts but are forward-looking statements, including for
purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,”
“may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,”
“expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,”
“predict,” “poised,” “positioned,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,”
“future,” “outlook,” “target,” and similar expressions that predict
or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of
historical matters, but the absence of these words does not mean
that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, (1) the ultimate
outcome and anticipated benefits of the acquisition of FMS; (2) the
anticipated expansion of Bridger’s operations, including for
certain new customers and in certain types of services, (3) FMS’
business plans and performance; (4) Bridger’s business and growth
plans and future financial performance, including Bridger’s
anticipated 2024 Adjusted EBITDA range; (5) the types of services
Bridger may offer; and (6) Bridger’s acquisition strategies,
capital resources, and research and development and the effect of
these investments. These statements are based on various
assumptions and estimates, whether or not identified in this press
release, and on the current expectations of Bridger’s and/or FMS’
management and are not predictions of actual performance. These
forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes
only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by
any investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a
definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and
circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will
differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are
beyond the control of Bridger and FMS. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
including: the duration or severity of any domestic or
international wildfire seasons; changes in domestic and foreign
business, market, financial, political and legal conditions;
Bridger’s or FMS’ failure to realize the anticipated benefits of
the acquisition; Bridger’s successful integration of FMS (including
achievement of synergies and cost reductions); the ability of
Bridger to provide services to certain new customers, and Bridger’s
success in securing contracts to perform these services; FMS’
ability to successfully and timely develop, sell and expand its
services, and otherwise implement its growth strategy; risks
relating to Bridger’s and FMS’ operations and business, including
information technology and cybersecurity risks, loss of requisite
licenses, flight safety risks, loss of key customers and
deterioration in relationships between Bridger and its employees;
risks related to increased competition; risks relating to potential
disruption of current plans, operations and infrastructure of
Bridger or FMS as a result of the consummation of the acquisition;
risks that Bridger is unable to secure or protect its intellectual
property; risks that Bridger experiences difficulties managing its
growth and expanding operations; Bridger’s ability to compete with
existing or new companies that could cause downward pressure on
prices, fewer customer orders, reduced margins, the inability to
take advantage of new business opportunities, and the loss of
market share; the ability to successfully select, execute or
integrate future acquisitions into Bridger’s business, which could
result in material adverse effects to operations and financial
conditions; and those factors discussed in the sections entitled
“Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements” included in Bridger’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on
March 20, 2024. If any of these risks materialize or Bridger
management’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could
differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking
statements. The risks and uncertainties above are not exhaustive,
and there may be additional risks that Bridger presently does not
know or that Bridger currently believes are immaterial that could
also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. In addition, forward looking statements
reflect Bridger’s and/or FMS’ expectations, plans or forecasts of
future events and views as of the date of this press release.
Bridger and FMS anticipate that subsequent events and developments
will cause Bridger’s and FMS’ assessments to change. However, while
Bridger may elect to update these forward-looking statements at
some point in the future, Bridger specifically disclaims any
obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be
relied upon as representing Bridger’s assessments as of any date
subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue
reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release.
Investor Contacts Alison Ziegler
Darrow Associates 201-220-2678 aziegler@darrowir.com
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