PE Deals

Clairvest, Morgan Stanley’s PE secondaries group invest in Top Aces

Top Aces is a Dorval, Quebec-based provider of advanced airborne training.

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  • The investment was made alongside Top Aces’ other shareholders, including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
  • Top Aces provides advanced adversary air and joint terminal attack controller training to the armed forces of the US, Canada, Germany and other NATO allies
  • In 2019, Clairvest and CDPQ led a $100 million financing of the company

Clairvest Group and Morgan Stanley Private Equity Secondaries have made a growth equity investment in Top Aces, a Dorval, Quebec-based provider of advanced airborne training.

The investment was made alongside Top Aces’ other shareholders, including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). No financial terms were disclosed.

Top Aces provides advanced adversary air and joint terminal attack controller training to the armed forces of the US, Canada, Germany and other NATO allies. It today operates out of 11 bases in four countries. The company has a large fleet of commercially operated fighter aircraft in active service and more than 500 employees, including 70 fighter pilots.

Ken Rotman, CEO and managing director of Clairvest, said about the deal: “We are delighted to be investing alongside Morgan Stanley Private Equity Secondaries as well as CDPQ in this latest round to support the continued growth of Top Aces. Morgan Stanley Private Equity Secondaries’ sophistication and agility helped make an otherwise complicated transaction close seamlessly. Through our collective support of the dedicated management team at Top Aces, we have helped create the industry leader in this rapidly growing segment of the defense industry.”

In 2019, Clairvest and CDPQ led a $100 million financing of Top Aces to support the company’s global expansion, acquisitions and services diversification.

Based in Toronto, Clairvest invests its own capital and that of third parties through the Clairvest Equity Partners funds in owner-led mid-market businesses. It has more than C$3.3 billion of capital under management.

CDPQ, Canada’s second largest pension system, invests on behalf of Quebec public retirement and insurance plans. It has its headquarters in Montreal.

Morgan Stanley Private Equity Secondaries is an arm of Morgan Stanley Investment Management. The New York-based firm had $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of 31 March 2023.