On May 15th, HEICO announced it had agreed to purchase Wencor, its largest competitor and the second largest PMA producer globally, for $1.9bn cash and $150m in HEI stock. Since the announcement, we’ve spent ~10+ hours interviewing Former HEICO, Wencor, and Airline MRO executives to understand potential implications of the acquisition. 

This analysis shares our learnings with a focus on the synergies between HEICO and Wencor’s PMA, MRO, and distribution businesses. We also explore one overlooked advantage of the acquisition: the ‘Alternate Bill of Materials’ (ABOM) strategy. This transaction significantly improves HEI’s positioning to save airline maintenance costs across its full offering. We share the synergies within each commercial segment, the advantages of HEI’s vertical integration, and the opportunity to scale the ABOM strategy.