Major acquisition for Sonaca in the USA

Sonaca  and  LMI  Aerospace  have  decided  to  join  forces  with  Sonaca  launching  a  public  offer for  100%  of  the  outstanding  shares  of  LMI Aerospace  for  a  consideration  of  USD  14  per  share in  cash.

This  Thursday,  February  16,  after  several  months  of  negotiations,  both  Boards  of  Sonaca  and LMI  Aerospace  approved  the  proposed  transaction.  The  transaction  should  be  completed  by June  2017  pending  approval  by  the  shareholders  of  LMI  Aerospace  and  relevant  regulatory approvals.  The  acquisition  is  a  direct  consequence  of  the  Sonaca  strategy  to  expand  in  the USA.

LMI  Aerospace,  headquartered  in  Saint-Louis,  Missouri,  employs  about  2000  employees.  The company  had  revenues  of  USD  375  mln  in  2015  and  has  operations  at  21  sites  (including engineering  offices)  across  the  USA,  Mexico,  the  UK,  and  Sri  Lanka.  LMI  Aerospace specializes  in  the  design  and  production  of  aerostructure  assemblies  and  complex  parts (fuselage  panels,  slats,  crew floors,..).

Upon  completion  of  the  proposed  transaction,  LMI  Aerostructures  will  be  integrated  in  the Sonaca  group  as  an  autonomous  subsidiary,  with  the  decision  center  for  the  Sonaca  Group remaining  in  Gosselies.  As  the  activities  of  the  group  are  very  complementary,  important commercial  and  operational  synergies  will  be  realized,  allowing  us  to  serve  our  customers even  better.

Our  USA  customer  portfolio  and  reach  will  be  much  strengthened  thanks  to  the  privileged customer  relations  LMI  Aerospace  enjoys  with  Sprit,  Boeing,  and  Gulfstream.  At  the  same time,  the  large  dependency  of  the  Sonaca  Group  on  the  Euro-Dollar  exchange  rate  will  be strongly  reduced.

The  additional  scale  and  scope  of  activities  from  this  acquisition  strengthen  our  market position  therewith  supporting  employment  in  Belgium.  The  senior  management  team  of  LMI Aerospace  will  remain  responsible  to  manage  the  activities  in  the  USA. This  acquisition  establishes  the  Sonaca  Group  as  a  leading  player  in  the  global  Aerostructures market.