Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation Hopes To Produce New Aircraft

Breathing life into a once-popular GA airplane, Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation (CPAC), based at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, said Monday that its Board of Directors has approved a letter of intent to sell CPAC to Aero-Base Inc. of Montreal, Canada.

CPAC owns the FAA Type Certificate and production assets for the Commander line of high performance, single engine, aircraft. The Aero-Base agreement requires that Aero-Base simultaneously arrange an acceptable agreement for CPAC’s airport production facility, which is leased from the City of Cape Girardeau. However, Aero-Base said that it has had preliminary discussions and believes that it will reach a mutually acceptable understanding with the City. Aero-Base acknowledged that lawyers are working on a formal agreement.

CPAC was formed four years ago by a group of 50 Commander aircraft owners, active in the Commander Owners Group (COG), to preserve and provide service for the brand while seeking a new investor to ramp up Commander production. “The sale of CPAC to Aero-Base will mark the conclusion of CPAC’s original mission to find or create a responsible company to produce new Commander aircraft and provide parts and service to the existing Commander fleet,” declared Gregory Walker, CPAC President and an active COG member. “We’re pleased that our temporary stewardship over the Commander brand can come to a close and that we will be delivering CPAC to a responsible, well financed, new parent that will fulfill our goal of restoring Commander production,” Walker said.

“I’m delighted that Aero-Base will be the company to bring Commander aircraft back into production,” said Aero-Base President Ronald Strauss. “I’ve owned a Commander and I’m confident that it will be enthusiastically accepted by its target market, especially with the design advances we intend to incorporate as we ramp up new production,” he added. “After meeting with Mayor Jay Knudtson and other Cape Girardeau City leaders, I am confident that we will conclude an acceptable arrangement for CPAC’s airport production facility and for expansion opportunities in Cape Girardeau, as well,” Strauss continued. CPAC acknowledged that the proposed sale to Aero-Base has been under discussion for the past year but, because of the world-wide, financial crises, the financing for the acquisition was delayed until now. However, Aero-Base recently confirmed that its financing agreements are in place, allowing the transaction to go forward quickly.

A key element in the transaction was the willingness of several major CPAC creditors to accept discounted payments for their debt. It said that the concessions to fund a stockholder payout were negotiated on an “all or none” basis with participating creditors. 

The acquisition transaction is being arranged by CPAC’s advisor, StoneGate Capital Group of Hartford, CT. StoneGate was retained by the Company’s “founding 50” four years ago to negotiate the original Commander asset acquisition and find financing and/or a buyer for the Company. StoneGate also provided interim management for the Company until its parts and service operations were established and the Company received Parts Manufacturer Approval from the FAA.

FMI: www.commanderpremier.com