StandardAero stock gains top 30% after pricing IPO above its estimated range

By Steve Gelsi

Jet-engine aftermarket company's stock gains about $7 over its $24 IPO price in its trading debut Wednesday

StandardAero Inc. generated a 34% gain in its stock-market debut on Wednesday in a strong showing from the private-equity-backed jet-engine repair and maintenance business.

It's also one of the few initial public offerings to top $1 billion in proceeds so far in 2024.

StandardAero's stock (SARO) opened at $31 and rose to $32.23 a share in recent trading for an ample gain over its $24 IPO price.

Signs of a healthy first day of trading came late Tuesday when the IPO priced above its estimated range of $20 to $23 a share, in a sign of strong demand. On Sept. 27, the company also increased the number of shares in the IPO to 60 million from 46.5 million shares.

StandardAero raised $1.44 billion by offering 60 million shares at $24 a share, with underwriters Goldman Sachs, KKR, Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, UBS, BofA Securities, Guggenheim Securities and Leerink Partners on the deal.

It's one of the rare IPOs to crack the $1 billion mark this year, joining Lineage Inc. (LINE), which raised $4.4 billion in July; Viking Holdings Ltd. (VIK), which raised $1.45 billion in April; and Kaspi.kz's (KSPI) deal of about $1 billion back in January.

Founded in 1911 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., StandardAero serves commercial aerospace, helicopter, military and business-aviation clients, with about 7,300 employees working at more than 50 facilities across the globe.

StandardAero had net income of $8.6 million in the first six months of the year, after a loss of $12.6 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $2.58 billion from $2.31 billion.

StandardAero changed its name from Dynasty Parent Co. Inc. on Sept. 5.

StandardAero is a portfolio company of private-equity firm Carlyle Group Inc. (CG), which acquired the company from Veritas Capital in 2019.

FrontView REIT IPO falls below offering price

FrontView REIT Inc. (FVR) opened at $18.35 and rose to $18.61 in midday action, falling below its $19-a-share IPO price.

FrontView priced 13.2 million shares at $19 a share for proceeds of $250.8 million in its IPO.

The Dallas-based real-estate investment trust went public at the middle of its estimated price range of $17 to $21, with underwriters Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and BofA Securities on the deal.

FrontView manages a portfolio of 278 properties in 31 states, with a focus on direct frontage on high-traffic roads.

Ciara Linnane contributed.

-Steve Gelsi

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10-02-24 1334ET

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