Deal Snapshot
I Squared Capital is closing in on a deal to acquire Orizon Aerostructures, according to people with knowledge of the talks. An announcement could come this week, and the price would imply roughly a $2 billion valuation for Orizon.
The negotiations are well advanced, but timing may move or the agreement could unravel. Spokespeople for I Squared and for Orizon had no comment.
What Orizon Brings
Orizon builds large, complex airframe components and supplies key pieces for Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II - widely considered the most advanced fighter currently being produced - as well as Boeing's 737 Max. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, the company said last year that a fresh multiyear contract with Lockheed helped push its backlog past $3.1 billion.
The company traces its start to 2017, when brothers Charlie and Henry Newell established it, and it expanded by acquiring production facilities - among them a former Spirit AeroSystems location in Chanute, Kansas. In 2020, American Industrial Partners, a private equity firm focused on industrial businesses, put $50 million into Orizon to support its expansion.
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Why Capacity Is Hot
Defense and commercial jet makers are racing to lift output, and they need ready-to-run suppliers rather than spending years constructing and certifying new facilities. Big machining centers, experienced labor and required approvals make seasoned vendors costly to duplicate, which is why established shops are in demand.
That theme is drawing strategic buyers too. In September, GE Aerospace announced plans to acquire Consolidated Precision Products - a maker of highly engineered castings for commercial and defense programs - for $11.75 billion from Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners. The Pentagon also said last week it plans to buy at least 850 additional F-35s, which would be the largest contract in the program's 25-year history. Each jet is about $100 million.
The Investor Angle
For I Squared, known for building midsize infrastructure businesses across energy, transport, utilities, digital infrastructure and environmental services, Orizon would be among its earliest bets in aerospace and defense. The firm oversees roughly $60 billion and is headed by Sadek Wahba and Gautam Bhandari.
Why it matters for your portfolio: if jet production keeps climbing and the F-35 pipeline deepens, capacity-rich suppliers can command premium valuations. A deal here would underscore how scarce, certified manufacturing assets are being priced - and what that might imply for similar names up and down the aerospace supply chain.
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