Directional Aviation Capital (DAC)—the company headed by Kenn Ricci that owns Flight Options, Sentient Jet, Nextant Aerospace and Constant Aviation—announced that it is buying fractional provider Flexjet from Bombardier for $185 million. Bombardier president and CEO Pierre Beaudoin said the sale to DAC “marks the next step in Flexjet’s evolution…[and] will allow Bombardier to focus on its core business areas,” which is mainly aircraft manufacturing and product support. The transaction is expected to close by year-end, pending U.S. government approvals.
Flexjet LLC, which is DAC’s shell company for the acquisition, also placed a $1.8 billion firm order for 85 Bombardier business jets—25 Learjet 75s, 30 Learjet 85s, 20 Challenger 350s and 10 Challenger 605s—along with options for 160 more worth another $3.4 billion. According to Ricci, the Learjet 75 order is for a not-yet-announced LXi version, which has a six-seat cabin configuration with a divan.