Aircraft parts distributor Pattonair readies sale -sources

By Soyoung Kim and Mike Stone

NEW YORK (Frankfurt: HX6.F - news) , April 7 (Reuters) - Pattonair, a privately held aircraft replacement parts distributor, is preparing to sell itself in a deal that could fetch more than $500 million, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Exponent Private Equity, which purchased the Fort Worth, Texas-based parts supply chain manager from Umeco Plc in 2011 for 140 million pounds, has been interviewing banks to lead a sale effort, the people said.

Pattonair, founded in 1942, has a global distribution system that facilitates the warehousing shipment of parts from Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, BAE Systems Plc (Other OTC: BAESF - news) , Airbus Group NV and Boeing Co (NYSE: BA - news) to customers including airlines and governments.

The company has around $50 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization and could look to fetch 10 to 12 times that amount, two of the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Pattonair and Exponent (NasdaqGS: EXPO - news) did not return requests for comment.

Pattonair had net sales of 291 million pounds in 2012 with more than 900 employees in 10 countries, according to its website. It has locations around the world including Derby, UK and Singapore. (Editing by Matthew Lewis)