Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation Hopes To Produce New
Aircraft
Breathing life into a once-popular GA airplane, Commander
Premier Aircraft Corporation (CPAC), based at Cape Girardeau
Regional Airport, said Monday that its Board of Directors has
approved a letter of intent to sell CPAC to Aero-Base Inc. of
Montreal, Canada.
CPAC owns the FAA Type Certificate and production assets for the
Commander line of high performance, single engine, aircraft. The
Aero-Base agreement requires that Aero-Base simultaneously arrange
an acceptable agreement for CPAC’s airport production
facility, which is leased from the City of Cape Girardeau. However,
Aero-Base said that it has had preliminary discussions and believes
that it will reach a mutually acceptable understanding with the
City. Aero-Base acknowledged that lawyers are working on a formal
agreement.
CPAC was formed four years ago by a group of 50 Commander
aircraft owners, active in the Commander Owners Group (COG), to
preserve and provide service for the brand while seeking a new
investor to ramp up Commander production. “The sale of CPAC
to Aero-Base will mark the conclusion of CPAC’s original
mission to find or create a responsible company to produce new
Commander aircraft and provide parts and service to the existing
Commander fleet,” declared Gregory Walker, CPAC President and
an active COG member. “We’re pleased that our temporary
stewardship over the Commander brand can come to a close and that
we will be delivering CPAC to a responsible, well financed, new
parent that will fulfill our goal of restoring Commander
production,” Walker said.
“I’m
delighted that Aero-Base will be the company to bring Commander
aircraft back into production,” said Aero-Base President
Ronald Strauss. “I’ve owned a Commander and I’m
confident that it will be enthusiastically accepted by its target
market, especially with the design advances we intend to
incorporate as we ramp up new production,” he added.
“After meeting with Mayor Jay Knudtson and other Cape
Girardeau City leaders, I am confident that we will conclude an
acceptable arrangement for CPAC’s airport production facility
and for expansion opportunities in Cape Girardeau, as well,”
Strauss continued. CPAC acknowledged that the proposed sale to
Aero-Base has been under discussion for the past year but, because
of the world-wide, financial crises, the financing for the
acquisition was delayed until now. However, Aero-Base recently
confirmed that its financing agreements are in place, allowing the
transaction to go forward quickly.
A key element in the transaction was the willingness of several
major CPAC creditors to accept discounted payments for their debt.
It said that the concessions to fund a stockholder payout were
negotiated on an “all or none” basis with participating
creditors.
The acquisition transaction is being arranged by CPAC’s
advisor, StoneGate Capital Group of Hartford, CT. StoneGate was
retained by the Company’s “founding 50” four
years ago to negotiate the original Commander asset acquisition and
find financing and/or a buyer for the Company. StoneGate also
provided interim management for the Company until its parts and
service operations were established and the Company received Parts
Manufacturer Approval from the FAA.