The CEOs of Gama Aviation and Specialist Aviation Services (SAS) gave an exclusive update with HeliHub.com late yesterday.  Marwan Khalek of Gama Aviation and Luke Farajallah of SAS advised that the process of Gama Aviation acquiring the SAS business is progressing well, and their expectation is that it will be concluded shortly via a pre-pack process.  Their collaboration and enthusiasm to conclude the deal in a short space of time is testament of their aim of demonstrating full continuity for existing clients, particularly the four UK air ambulance charities that SAS currently flies for.

The agreement covers all of the UK and Middle East operations/support contracts currently provided by SAS, but not the Belgian subsidiary European Support Center bvba.  All UK contracts and aircraft in the UK will be handled going forward by Gama Aviation UK Ltd. Gama Aviation will also take on the SAS contracts in Kuwait and Bahrain.  

HeliHub understands from SAS and Gama Aviation that the UK CAA have been engaged and fully participative in this process from the outset and are working to ensure they play their part in the seamless continuation of the life-saving services SAS provides with its fleet of seven AW169 helicopters.

All employees of SAS were advised yesterday of the situation by Khalek and Farajallah, and it is expected that they will all transfer between the two companies under the UK TUPE (“Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)”) rules. Gama Aviation is regularly involved in the TUPE process when taking on contracts from incumbents. 

The strategy behind the proposed acquisition will see Gama Aviation add Leonardo services, complementary to its existing Airbus offerings which focus on the Air Ambulance sector. Taking on the SAS facility in Cheltenham will also likely bring the opportunity for a second Airbus maintenance facility to the Gama Group. Khalek stated that the prospects of adding H145 and EC/H135 approvals to Staverton would provide additional maintenance options for existing customers and those operating in the Midlands, Southern and Southwest England.