Seeking Advice on Search in Aerospace NDT / Chemical Processing Services

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April 22, 2024

by a searcher from University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA, USA

I'm currently evaluating the purchase of a aerospace focused non-destructive testing and chemical processing business. I have some high level exposure to the sector and a few connections through my day job (PE), but would love to connect with people that are smart in the space to get their views and potentially bring on as advisors, co-investors, or operators. Please share your contact information or DM me if you might be able to help!

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Reply by a searcher
from Biola University in North Tustin, CA, USA
Also been looking in this space and have run across several smaller engineering services and specialty mfg businesses for sale stretching from Ventura to San Diego, some mil/aero focused and some medical and industrial focused. Most are pretty old businesses doing business off paper and fax machines and owner heavily involved and often with all the specialty knowledge and relationships.

I won’t say I have deep knowledge of these types of businesses but I have been developing and marketing specialty tech hardware selling into the same customers these shops do, e.g. Boeing, Raytheon, SpaceX, etc. I know the deeper you go into the mil/aero space, the more hoops you have to jump through making it difficult to manage profitability if you let the customers drag out their projects by changing requirements and continually exercising your technical resources. Makes proper scoping and bidding key with solid engagement agreements and SoW/MoU docs in place.

Also make sure the company you’re looking at is not considered a “set aside” business, i.e. minority owned, and make sure the contracts and relationships aren’t tied to the seller or even the business so that when biz trades hands, all of the contracts are voided and need to be renegotiated. If contracts are tied to seller/business, I think there is a way to maintain them via a stock vs. asset sale.

Let me know if you find something good and looking for some investors and/or a consulting for equity type arrangements. Best of luck…and GO BRUINS! :)
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Reply by a searcher
from University of Illinois at Urbana in Rockford, IL, USA
I have not bought a company that serves the aerospace industry yet, but I have been working in the Aerospace Industry for 17+ years now with a few large organizations. Feel free to direct message me if you'd would like to chat and I can share what I know on the aerospace industry.
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