Investor group Apollo Global completes Atlas Air acquisition

An investor group led by Apollo Global Management has completed the acquisition of freighter operator Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings.

The deal was first announced in August last year with an equity value of around £3bn, although FlightGlobal reports the final deal had a value of around $2.9bn.

The completion of the acquisition makes Atlas Air a privately held company and its stock will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It will continue to operate under the Atlas Air Worldwide name.

The Apollo group led by funds were joined in the acquisition by investment affiliates of JF Lehman & Company and Hill City Capital.

Under the terms of the agreement, Atlas Air Worldwide shareholders will receive $102.50 per share in cash.

The New York-headquartered firm previously said in a stock exchange filing that it had gained the necessary approvals for the acquisition on March 14.

Atlas will continue to be led by president and chief executive John Dietrich and the company’s current executive leadership team.

The acquisition “marks the start of an exciting new chapter for Atlas, and we are eager to begin our partnership with Apollo, J.F. Lehman and Hill City”, said Dietrich.

“With the support and resources of our investor partners, we are well-positioned to achieve our growth objectives while continuing to serve the increasingly complex global supply chain.

“I want to thank the entire Atlas team, whose customer focus and dedication made this milestone possible. I look forward to the opportunities this next phase provides for our Company and our employees.”

On behalf of the investor group, Apollo partners Antoine Munfakh and Jason Scheir, JF Lehman partner Alex Harman, and Hill City Capital chief investment officer Chip Frazier said: “We are thrilled to partner with the talented Atlas team and build on the Company’s strong foundation as a leader in the airfreight industry.

“We have long admired Atlas’ reputation of providing high-quality service to its customers, as well as the financial and operational excellence the team has established. Atlas is poised for continued growth and expansion as it capitalizes on the long-term demand for global air cargo services.”

In the fourth quarter of the year, Atlas Air saw its revenues grow but profits were down.