American Pacific Corporation (“American Pacific”), a leading manufacturer of propulsion related materials for the Aerospace, Space and Defense industries, announced today that it has made a minority investment in Frontier Aerospace (“Frontier” or “the Company”), a leader in the space propulsion industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Frontier Aerospace marks American Pacific’s first investment since being acquired by AE Industrial Partners, LP (“AEI”) in 2020. AEI is a private equity firm specializing in Aerospace, Defense & Government Services, Space, Power Generation, and Specialty Industrial markets.
Based in Simi Valley, California, Frontier was founded in 1997 by President Jim McKinnon, previously a propulsion research engineer at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. The Company provides end-to-end space propulsion services, from concept ideation to product development to design verification testing. Frontier has a reputation for handling complex projects that can benefit from its industry experience, resources, and partnerships. Its products are used in defense, GEO/deep space applications, lunar landers, collision avoidance, space transportation, space tourism and earth observation satellites. Frontier’s propulsion systems are currently slated for two lunar landers as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (“CLPS”) mission.
“With our investment in Frontier, we now have a strategic partner in next-generation, in-space liquid propulsion technology,” said Hal Murdock, CEO of American Pacific. “Jim and the Frontier team bring a strong space heritage and have a solid reputation for innovation, and we are proud to work together to better serve our launch industry customers.”
“With American Pacific’s investment, we gain additional resources to take advantage of the tremendous interest in today’s space industry, combined with the added benefit of their deep defense industry expertise,” said Frontier’s Mr. McKinnon. “We also look forward to leveraging AEI’s relationships and intimate understanding of aerospace and defense’s unique challenges.”
“Guidance navigation and control and in-space propulsion are critical to the national defense and space industries, and we are pleased to have American Pacific partner with a company on the cutting edge of next-generation liquid propulsion technologies,” said Kirk Konert, a Partner at AEI. “We’re excited about the possibilities that a partnership between two well-respected leaders can offer.”
Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to American Pacific. Polsinelli served as legal advisor to Frontier.
About American Pacific
Headquartered in Cedar City, UT, American Pacific is a leading manufacturer of specialty materials for the Aerospace, Space, Defense and Fire Protection industries. American Pacific collaborates with its customers to develop and manufacture customized products that meet rigorous quality and performance standards. Additional information can be found at www.ampac.us.
About Frontier Aerospace
Headquartered in Simi Valley, California, Frontier Aerospace provides end-to-end space propulsion services, from concept ideation to product development to design verification testing. Its products are used in missile defense GEO/deep space applications, lunar landers, collision avoidance, space transportation, space tourism and earth observation satellites. For more information please visit www.frontier.us/.
About AE Industrial Partners
AE Industrial Partners is a private equity firm specializing in Aerospace, Defense & Government Services, Space, Power Generation, and Specialty Industrial markets. AE Industrial Partners invests in market-leading companies that can benefit from our deep industry knowledge, operating experience, and relationships throughout our target markets. AE Industrial Partners is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Learn more at www.aeroequity.com.
CONTACT:
Lambert & Co.
Jennifer Hurson
(845) 507-0571
jhurson@lambert.com
or
Caroline Luz
(203) 656-2829
cluz@lambert.com