FTAI Aviation has reached an agreement to acquire a 50% stake in Rome-based IAG Engine Center Europe and plans to establish a new joint venture in the Italian capital aimed at increasing its CFM International CFM56 engine repair capacity.
Announced on Feb. 26, the deal will see a subsidiary of New York City-headquartered FTAI Aviation take an ownership stake in IAG Engine Center Europe, which operates a 200,000-ft.2 facility at Rome Fiumicino Airport.
Once the deal is completed, envisaged in the first half of this year subject to closing conditions, the joint venture will operate as QuickTurn Europe. The site will become the third owned and managed CFM56 maintenance shop in the network of FTAI, an aircraft and engine lessor which has set about growing its aftermarket presence in the past two years via acquisitions.
At the end of 2023, the company acquired full ownership of Miami-based QuickTurn Engine Center from Unical Aviation, having previously teamed up with them to buy the former iThrust Aero business nearly one year before.
Last year, it added the Montreal-based engine overhaul operation of Lockheed Martin Commercial Engine Solutions (LMCES), which specializes in CFM56 engine maintenance. Bought for around $170 million, FTAI said it is exploring the possibility of also introducing International Aero Engines V2500 services at that shop given the increased volumes of the narrowbody engines it is making available for sale and lease.
The latest transaction in Italy has been given a deal value of around $50 million by investment bank Jefferies for the 50% stake.
FTAI says the stake acquisition will bring further capacity to its network in a key region. Once at full capacity, FTAI says that QuickTurn Europe is expected to be able to maintain 450 modules (150 engines) per year, bringing FTAI’s maintenance capacity to 1,800 CFM56 modules (600 engines) and more than 600 engine tests annually across its three locations.
In the second half of 2025, FTAI plans to introduce piece-part repair capability to the operation. This will be followed by a CFM56 test cell working at full operation, expected in around two years’ time.
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