New owner for Piper Aircraft; business to stay in Florida
American Capital on May 1 sold its entire stake in Vero Beach, Fla.-based Piper Aircraft to Imprimis, a corporate finance and investment management firm th

American Capital on May 1 sold its entire stake in Vero Beach, Fla.-based Piper Aircraft to Imprimis, a corporate finance and investment management firm that operates from offices in Bangkok, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. However, the new owners have pledged to keep Piper’s headquarters, production and product development facilities in Vero Beach.

American Capital acquired the majority of Piper by assuming $57 million of senior debt discounted to $34 million in July 2003. It was not disclosed how much Imprimis paid for the aircraft maker, though American Capital said one week after the deal closed that it realized a $31 million gain from the sale of Piper. Including investments in Piper by American Capital’s affiliated funds under management, the inception-to-date realized gains were $51 million, for an annual rate of return of 18 percent.