may2023 - 7

Business Buzz
TOP NEWS
Upcoming Events
May 16-18
IATA Ground Handling Conference
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
June 19-21
GSE&RAMP-OPS Global
Seville, Spain
July 24-30
EAA AirVenture
Menzies To Acquire Controlling
Stake in Groundforce
Menzies Aviation has signed a subscription
agreement with TAP Air
Portugal and Groundforce to acquire
a controlling stake of 50.1 percent in
Groundforce, the airline's aviation
services arm.
Groundforce handles more than
100,000 aircraft turns each year, across
its operations at five of the busiest
airports in Portugal. The aviation services
company provides ground and air
cargo services to several global airlines
including TAP, its main customer.
" This transaction is further evidence
of our scale and ability to enter
a market in a meaningful way, as a
long-term investor with a strong commitment
to deliver industry leading
services to airline and airport customers, "
said Hassan El-Houry, Menzies
Aviation chairman.
Upon the completion of the agreement,
Menzies Aviation will have a 65
percent market share in Portugal, with
operations at five airports and more
than 3,000 employees.
in Paris and operate as Worldwide
Flight Services.
Craig Smyth, CEO of WFS, will continue
to run the company and report to
Kerry Mok, president and chief executive
UK Completes Review
of Ground Operations To
Increase Sector's Resilience
The UK Department for Transport has set
out 10 areas for the aviation industry to
focus on to ensure airport ground operations
get back to full capacity and avoid
a repeat of the travel disruption seen
last summer.
" We've made it clear that improvements
can and must be made, so the
UK Civil Aviation Authority are working
closely with the industry to build a resilient
ground handler market for years to
come, " said Aviation Minister Baroness
Vere of Norbiton.
Areas of focus include measuring
ground handler performance, engaging
ground handlers and the government,
supporting the government and the
industry's general aviation program for
recruitment, retention, upskilling and
outreach; and establishing a series of
working groups to address airport ID processes
and performance standards.
SATS Completes Acquisition
of Worldwide Flight Services
SATS Ltd. has acquired Worldwide Flight
Services (WFS) for €1.3 billion (equivalent
to approximately $1.8 billion USD) from
an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management,
representing an enterprise value of
€2,250 million.
WFS becomes a fully owned subsidiary
of SATS, headquartered in Singapore.
WFS will continue to be headquartered
officer of SATS, and an advisory board.
" SATS and WFS will provide our customers
with the critical global cargo handling
capability, and the scale advantage
for us to develop and pioneer new solutions
that will enhance our customers'
competitiveness. We welcome the management
team and employees of WFS
into the SATS family. Our focus is now on
accelerating value creation for our customers
over the medium term, " said Mok.
" Our combination with SATS enhances
our ability to provide end-to-end trade
solutions, which is increasingly critical to
our global customers. Together, we will
drive technology and service innovations
while maintaining our industry-leading
standards of safety and security, "
said Smyth.
May 2023 || AviationPros.com || 7
Oshkosh, WI
http://www.AviationPros.com
may2023

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