Cirrus Aircraft has filed an application for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to the company, the capital gained by the offering would allow it to further invest in “people, new product development, production capabilities, facilities and efficiencies, as well as enable and expand global service capabilities and strengthen [Cirrus’] IT and business infrastructure.” Cirrus is not planning to register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which would be necessary to offer shares to U.S. investors.
“From time to time, Cirrus Aircraft explores options to raise additional capital,” the company said in a statement. “Our current work, made possible by the contributions of the Cirrus Aircraft team, has positioned the company as a global leader in personal aviation. A natural next step in that journey is exploring additional business and capital funding structures that enable even larger and more stable growth ahead.”
Cirrus noted that it does not have a definitive timeline for the listing plan given that its application is still being vetted by Hong Kong regulators. The company is reportedly looking to raise $300 million with the offering. Founded in 1984, Minnesota-based Cirrus Aircraft was acquired by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. (CAIGA) in 2011.
They need a Cirrus SR-22P (Pressurized). Something like the Cessna 210P. Maybe just up to 22,000 feet or so. That would be a real seller. Use the money for that not executive bonuses.
Many P210’s for sale for a fraction of a Cirrus. Great airplanes.
A more accurate headline would be: “CAIGA files for public offering….”
$300M. That’s it. Clearly a control play here disguised as a low ball capital gen move. With Cirrus current disruption of their partner network, additional Cirrus centers popping up in FL, TX, AZ directly competing with what was traditionally a grass roots “partnership” network. This is the nail in the coffin for permanent foreign ownership/control. With approaching global recession, declining US/China relations, this is overall, a good move by CAIGA. Not so good for Cirrus illusion to “stay” in US. Puppet show. One of their product lines is actually called “Xi”…Yes…”Xi”. Fun $1.2M airplanes. Another Chinese success story. Don’t be fooled, “There has been and will be no public offering of the Securities in the United States”. Close your Robin Hood apps…
The SR-22 structure is probably not well-suited to pressurization, since it wasn’t an original design consideration. The changes needed would be expensive to design and difficult to incorporate into the manufacturing process. It would basically end up being a whole new model in terms of cost, certification, production.