American multi-national private equity investors Carlyle Group is looking to sell the world’s largest seaplane operator; Trans Maldives Airways (TMA) to a potential new buyer, Bloomberg reported on Friday, 22nd July.
The Maldives-based seaplane operator reportedly valued between USD500 million to USD700 million, is currently in consideration for a mega-sale. An anonymous source on Bloomberg claims Carlyle and co-investors King Street Capital Management and Davidson Kempner Capital Management held initial talks with potential advisors for the a possible TMA divestment.
The seaplane operator, with the largest seaplane fleet in the world, faced heavily fiscal blows amid Covid-19 pandemic when the Maldivian tourism industry came to a standstill for three-months amid border closure.
The airline was forced to ground its fleet of 57 aircraft in April 2020.
In 2021, Carlyle Group became the majority shareholder of TMA through a massive acquisition from US-based Bain Capital and Chinese Conglomerate Tempus Group. The acquisition restructured TMA’s debt, which at the time was struggling to pay off its outstanding USD300 million loan.
Bain Capital and Tempus Group acquired the seaplane operator from international investment firm Blackstone Inc. in 2017 for an acquisition cost of USD550 million.
Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) is the oldest aviation service provider in the Maldives, launching its operations in 1989 with a helicopter fleet; dubbed the “Hummingbird Helicopters”.
The aviation company transformed into a seaplane-only operation in 1999, after which it was renamed Trans Maldivian Airways in 2000.
TMA’s sole competitor in the island nation Maldivian Air Taxi were merged together under the TMA brand after it was acquired by Blackstone Inc. in 2013.