PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Versa Capital Management, LLC (“Versa”), a private equity firm focused on control investments in special situations, announced today that one of its affiliates has acquired Silver Airways, LLC (“Silver Airways”), a Florida-based airline providing more service within its home state and to the Bahamas than any other U.S. airline, as well as flights to 20 U.S. cities. This month, Silver Airways became one of the first U.S. commercial airlines in over 50 years to offer service from the U.S. to Cuba where they will serve nine cities throughout the country. Terms of the acquisition were not made public.
Versa’s management stated it looks forward to working with the very capable Silver Airways team under the continued leadership of CEO Sami Teittinen. The Fort Lauderdale, FL-headquartered company operates a fleet of Saab 340B Plus aircraft and was named one of the Top 10 Best U.S. Airlines in the Conde Nast Traveler’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards in 2013.
Mr. Teittinen commented: “All of us at Silver Airways are pleased to welcome Versa Capital as our new partner. Versa brings a unique combination of financial strength and operational expertise that will be of great value to our company. We look forward to their contributions as we continue to execute our customer-centric growth strategy.”
“We’re excited about this new opportunity for Versa to support Silver Airways with an enhanced capital structure that is in tune with the company’s growth trajectory,” stated Gregory L. Segall, Chairman and CEO of Versa. “We believe that Sami’s leadership – which has helped Silver Airways establish a differentiated and attractive growth strategy – combined with the opening of the new markets in Cuba will provide unprecedented revenue growth opportunities over time to the business.”
About Silver Airways
Silver Airways is a privately held U.S. airline that averages more than 120 daily flights to 26 destinations in Florida (including hubs in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Tampa), the Bahamas, and the Mid-Atlantic region from Washington-Dulles. The company is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a maintenance facility based at Florida’s Orlando International Airport. Silver is a codeshare partner with JetBlue, United Airlines, and Avianca, and has interline agreements with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, Bahamasair, Hahn Air, Azul Brazilian Airlines, and All Nippon Airways. For more information, visit silverairways.com.
About Versa Capital Management, LLC
Based in Philadelphia, Versa Capital Management, LLC is a private equity investment firm with more than $1.4 billion of assets under management focused on control investments in special situations involving middle market companies where value and performance growth can be achieved through enhanced operational and financial management, and has a diverse portfolio of North American consumer and industrial businesses including Allen-Vanguard International, Avenue Stores, Black Angus Steakhouse, Bridgestreet Global, Polartec, Standard Parking, and Hatteras Yachts. More information can be found at Versa.com.