|
VistaJet has signed a
ground breaking transaction with investment funds affiliated with
Rhône Capital, which have invested $150m of cash into the business.
Together with
secondary acquisitions, Rhône will have a $200m stake in VistaJet,
in a transaction valuing VistaJet’s equity on a post-money basis in
excess of $2.5bn. The investment is another key milestone in
VistaJet’s growth story and a major vote of confidence in the
Company’s strategy and business model.
As a result of 13
years of investment and development, VistaJet believes that its
operations and capabilities are now more sophisticated and efficient
than anything else available in the market. With an industry leading
operations hub in Malta and main sales offices in London, Dubai, New
York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, VistaJet has
built a fleet of over 70 wholly-owned super midsized and ultra-long
range aircraft, all with identical livery and design. Its
proprietary end-to-end internally developed technology platform
makes VistaJet one of the most technologically integrated companies
in business aviation. It also constantly reviews and improves its
product offer. This year, the company introduced VistaJet Direct, a
new digital membership that gives customers priority access to
available one-way and empty leg flights via the company’s app and
website. VistaJet Direct is the first app membership in the industry
able to offer a fully integrated service to its customers.
The positive effects
of this work are visible in VistaJet’s trading performance. In the
first half of 2017, VistaJet’s EBITDA rose by 32% year-on-year. The
company saw a 51% growth in the total number of Subscription Program
Hours sold year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017, and Program
Membership revenue reached a record high of 63% of total revenue, up
from 55% in the previous quarter. It also recorded a market-leading
customer retention rate of 91% in the first half of 2017.
VistaJet is one of
the most operationally advanced companies in the sector, with a
unique subscription business model. It has flown over 250,000
passengers to over 1,600 airports in 187 countries, or 96% of the
world, making it the only truly global player in the market. With
these strong foundations and the investment announced today, it is
ideally placed for continued significant growth.
 |
|
VistaJet
founder and chairman Thomas Flohr. |
VistaJet
founder and chairman Thomas
Flohr commented, “Thanks
to the hard work we have done over the past decade, we believe that
VistaJet delivers the best service levels in the sector and in the
most efficient manner. The integrated technology platform we have
built fueled by data, algorithms and digital channels is, we
believe, unique in the industry. Today’s announcement is further
confirmation of VistaJet’s leading status in the market, and
represents a real vote of confidence in our strategy and vision. I
am excited to partner with the Rhône team and to have Steven Langman,
Co-Founder of Rhône, join VistaJet’s board of directors. Rhône fully
endorses our philosophy and approach, and will be a valued partner
in the next stage of the VistaJet journey. Together, we will
continue to focus on expanding our global market share. With the
investment announced today, we are ideally placed to take advantage
of market consolidation, and to build on our position in the
sector.”
Steven
Langman of Rhône Capital
said: “We seek to invest in the leaders in any sector, and with
VistaJet we have invested in the best. We have closely followed
Thomas and VistaJet for some time, and we are convinced that the
Company’s business model and global strategy give it a superior
advantage in the marketplace. We share management’s vision to
significantly grow the business, both organically and by
acquisition, and we are prepared to make further investments, if
needed, to achieve these goals. We are pleased to have invested in
this dynamic industry pioneer.” |
