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CAE concludes acquisition of Sabre’s Airline Operations (AirCentre) portfolio

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  • Positions CAE as a digital technology leader, complementing CAE flight simulator and training solutions
  • Offers flight, crew, aircraft movement, airport and in-flight management and optimization tools that deliver efficiency for the flight ecosystem
  • Airline Operations portfolio, RB Group and Merlot form CAE’s new Civil Flight Services portfolio

MONTREAL, March 1, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ – CAE (NYSE: CAE) (TSX: CAE) announced today that it has concluded the previously announced acquisition of Sabre’s Airline Operations portfolio (formerly known as AirCentre solutions), a highly valuable suite of flight and crew management and optimization solutions, for an enterprise value of US$ 392.5 million. The acquisition includes the Sabre Airline Operations product portfolio, related technology and intellectual property as well as the transfer of highly talented workforce.

“We are very pleased to welcome Sabre’s Airline Operations customers and employees to CAE,” said Marc Parent, CAE’s President and CEO. “This acquisition, in addition to our ongoing technological transformation and our previous acquisitions of Merlot and RB Group, allows us to expand our reach into digitally-enabled flight and crew management and optimization services and create additional value for our customers”.

Parent added: “CAE’s Flight Services solutions allow us to help airlines and business jet operators globally to better manage their operations, decrease costly scheduling disruptions, improve staffing and operational decision-making, and decrease fuel consumption and carbon emissions. This ecosystem also enables pilots and crew members to better manage their day-to-day activities, while supporting them throughout their training and career journeys. Our customers are increasingly adopting digital solutions to improve efficiency and operations, and we are thrilled about this opportunity to expand our suite of innovative civil flight services solutions.”

CAE has been carrying out a growth strategy with the intent to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic a larger, more resilient, and more profitable company than ever before. The acquisition, the ninth accretive acquisition for CAE since the COVID-19 pandemic began, will further expand CAE’s reach across its broad customer base beyond simulators and pilot training and establish the company as a technology leader in the growing marketplace for industry-leading, digitally enabled flight and crew operations solutions. CAE expects that the transaction will be mid-single-digit percentage EPS1 accretive, and even higher free cash flow2 accretive, for CAE within the first year post-closing.

Over the past two years, CAE has been unifying its digital flight operations business with the goal of delivering a holistic suite of solutions designed to improve operations and unite airline, business jet operators and crew in a single, interconnected and growing digital ecosystem. With the addition of this suite of digital capabilities to the existing business, CAE will now engage with pilots at every point of their career life cycles, from training and flight preparation, planning and scheduling right through to in-flight route optimization, performance and analytics.

The acquisitions of Merlot and RB Group in December 2020 and April 2021 marked milestones in CAE’s journey to pioneer the development of a digital flight operations ecosystem. And in July 2021, CAE announced Project Resilience, a multi-year innovation program to develop the technologies of tomorrow, including digitally immersive solutions leveraging data and artificial intelligence in civil aviation. For more information about CAE’s portfolio of flight operations solutions visit these pages.

About Sabre Airline Operations

The Airline Operations business includes almost 500 employees located in 12 countries, including 6 hubs (Dallas, Bangalore, Vienna, Krakow, Montevideo, and Shanghai). It delivers software solutions to more than 150 airline customers, with a portfolio that includes:

  • Crew Management: Enables enhanced long-term planning, innovative tracking and management, and disruption management decision support to help carriers manage crew schedules and keep crew members informed with real-time data
  • Flight Management: Allows airlines to manage the core functions of flight operations to deliver efficient flight plans and support increased productivity
  • Movement Manager: Helps airlines to gain a competitive advantage by optimizing the use of aircraft and operational plans to help meet commercial objectives such as protecting schedules, reducing disruptions and minimizing passenger impact
  • Airport Management: Manages airport operations such as planning, gate assignments and staffing to support increased operational efficiency, help optimize costs and improve the customer experience
  • In-flight: Spans all aspects of service planning, meal ordering, forecasting, op
    erations, materials management, financial controls and reporting

About CAE

CAE is a high technology company, at the leading edge of digital immersion, providing solutions to make the world a safer place. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to reimagine the customer experience and revolutionize training and operational support solutions in civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare. We are the partner of choice to customers worldwide who operate in complex, high-stakes and largely regulated environments, where successful outcomes are critical. As testament to our customers’ ongoing needs for our solutions, over 60 percent of CAE’s revenue is recurring in nature. We have the broadest global presence in our industry, with more than 11,000 employees, 180 sites, and training locations in over 35 countries. www.cae.com 

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