Adani Defence & Aerospace to buy Indian MRO Air Works for Rs 400cr

Adani Defence Systems & Technologies, a unit of Adani Defence & Aerospace, has agreed to acquire Air Works Group, an Indian maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) unit, for an enterprise valuation of INR 400 crores.

Established in 1951, Air Works Group has presence across 27 cities, six maintenance bays, and 900 maintenance experts.

Air Works Group provides a range of services from MRO and heavy checks, to line maintenance, cabin and interior refurbishment, exterior finishing and painting, to avionics upgrades, integrations and retrofits, end-of-lease/ redelivery checks, maintenance training (CAR 147), and asset management services to domestic and international clients.

Ashish Rajvanshi — Adani Defence & Aerospace CEO said: “Given India’s growth trajectory and the Government’s focus to network the nation through a massive mesh of air connectivity… the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul sector has a crucial role to play in both, the defence and civilian aerospace sector of the nation.

“Air Works has impeccable proven capabilities and over its 70-year aviation legacy has successfully delivered several India-first and industry-first projects.

“Combine this with the Adani Group‘s capabilities and what we get is an entity that truly represents what an Atmanirbhar Bharat in a critical sector should look like.”

Adani Defence & Aerospace to acquire Indian MRO Air Works Group for Rs 400cr. Photo courtesy of Air Works.

The clients of Air Works Group include global aviation OEMs, aircraft owners/ operators (including fixed wing and rotary wing), airlines, lessors, and the Indian Defence Services.

D Anand Bhaskar — Air Works Group MD and CEO said: “India has the potential to become the MRO hub for the region across defence and civil aircrafts.

“The government’s policy measures and initiatives including convergence of civil and defence MRO would create economies of scale and huge employment opportunities.”

At present, Air Works Group and Boeing are carrying out heavy maintenance checks on three P-8I long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft operated by the Indian Navy at Air Works, Hosur.

The Indian MRO market is believed to increase three times from $1.7bn to $5bn by 2030, according to both companies.