Eclipse Jet LLC Announces New Structure And Strategy
Reviewing the past four years' timeline of events concerning
the rise and fall of Eclipse Aviation and the Eclipse 500, it seems
much like a fairy tale turned nightmare.
Founder and CEO Vern Raburn, once at the top of his game, was
ousted last year by
foreign investors, led by Roel Pieper... who,
despite the pretense of saving the company from financial
hardships, failed to do so. The company closed up shop in
mid-February -- and entered liquidation two weeks later --
when funds promised by Pieper to purchase the company out
of Chapter 11 bankruptcy failed to materialize in the
global economic downturn... leaving employees, depositors, and
existing Eclipse 500 owners in the lurch.
With several new companies now set on acquiring the assets of
Eclipse Aviation, the Eclipse 500 may indeed rise from the ashes.
However, the biggest twist to the tale yet comes with the
announcement that Roel Pieper, the man at Eclipse's helm as it went
under, may get another chance to bring ever-elusive success to
Eclipse.
As ANN reported, Eclipse 500 owner Mike Press
and depositor Mason Holland announced last week their formation of
Eclipse Jet LLC. On Friday, they announced names of three other
partners in their endeavor -- Raul Segredo, John Cracken, and
Pieper.
Pieper (shown below) is the former CEO of Tandem Computer,
involved in the design and manufacture of complex fault-tolerant
computers before Pieper sold Tandem to Compaq Computers in 1997.
Pieper is a former Board member with Compaq and Dutch
electronics-giant, Philips Electronics.
"Mike, Raul, and I have come to know Roel Pieper through our
discussions with him during the course of the Eclipse bankruptcy,"
Holland said. "Roel reluctantly took over as CEO of Eclipse in July
of 2008, and due to the worldwide economic crisis at the end of
2008, he was unable to fund his plan to turn around the company.
When we set out to determine how to maximize the value of Eclipse's
assets and ensure our ability to deliver value to customers, Roel
proved very helpful.
"For the last year, he's been in the midst of Eclipse's
diligence in connection with reducing its production costs and
expanding the market for the Eclipse 500 throughout Europe. He
understands from actual experience all of the issues Mike, Raul and
I have been modeling. Our go-forward plan is now better informed
regarding how to deliver the Eclipse 500 to a worldwide audience
and avoid the pitfalls Eclipse learned through its past
experiences," Holland said.
Raul Segredo is the co-founder, President and CEO of aerospace
services provider Avionica. John Cracken is a Managing Director of
Dallas-based private equity firm Cracken, Harkey & Co. LLC.
"Our five-person team intends to capture Eclipse's assets, lead
a transition team to both restore fleet services and support and
recruit a seasoned senor management team to lead Eclipse and resume
production," Holland said.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.15.24)
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