Flexjet raises $800mn from LVMH-backed private equity firm
World’s second-biggest private jet company valued at $4bn in one of biggest investments in private aviation history
Flexjet, the world’s second-largest private jet company, has raised $800mn in a funding round led by LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton in a bid to tap into a boom in demand from young super-rich flyers.
The fundraising values Flexjet at roughly $4bn, according to people familiar with the matter, as the company seeks to expand its fleet in response to demand from technology and crypto entrepreneurs.
“We have a tremendous amount of different types of entrepreneurs this year . . . in the tech space but also bitcoin, they become so speculative and so there is rapid wealth in that industry,” Flexjet chair Kenn Ricci told the Financial Times.
The investment in Flexjet is the largest ever fundraising in the private aviation sector, according to US investment bank Jefferies. Flexjet is the world’s second-biggest private jet company by fleet size and market share, behind Warren Buffett-backed market leader NetJets.
The business, whose exclusive network of aircraft were featured in the hit HBO show Succession, has started to explore how L Catterton’s ties to LVMH can expand its luxurious offerings such as designs of cabin interiors.
KSL Capital Partners, LLC and the J Safra Group took part in the deal.
The company, which operates a fleet of more than 300 business jets including Gulfstreams and offers fractional ownership of its aircraft, previously walked away from plans announced in late 2022 to go public in a Spac deal that valued the group at $3.1bn.
The patchy return of scheduled flights in the years after pandemic lockdowns diverted record numbers of wealthy travellers to private jets.
The global super-prime jet market was worth $22.7bn last year, according to consultants AeroDynamic Advisory, a 7 per cent rise on 2023. Worldwide, 764 private jets were delivered last year, according to data provider IBA, with projections of a 7.3 per cent increase this year.
But as the global super-rich population skews younger — the average age of Flexjet’s customers is now 58, down from 62 in 2019 — catering for their needs has become a priority for jet providers.
“It’s kind of funny because in one sense, we talk about Generation X as being more frugal, right? The ride sharing, the Ubers, the Airbnbs. But it doesn’t relate to aircraft,” Ricci said, adding that younger people wanted to travel “further” to destinations such as London and Dubai with “bigger aircraft”.
The Cleveland, Ohio-based company brought in $2.6bn in revenue last year, a rise of more than 50 per cent on fiscal 2021, according to a person familiar with the company. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were $390mn in 2024, and are projected to reach $425mn this year.
Flexjet has benefited from a surge in demand for luxury travel to the Middle East in recent years, and now has 10 times more flights to destinations in the region such as Dubai and Jeddah than in 2021.
L Catterton, a consumer-focused investment firm, was set up in 2016 by Catterton, LVMH and Bernard Arnault’s family holding company.
As part of the deal, 25 per cent of the investment will be given out in dividends to existing Flexjet shareholders, according to people familiar with the discussions. One person said the private jet company had not been “out shopping for deals” but that it had been approached by L Catterton, which wanted to “make an investment in the space”.