Eclipse Jet LLC Announces New Structure And Strategy

Reviewing the past four years' timeline of events concerning the rise and fall of Eclipse Aviation and the Eclipse 500, it seems much like a fairy tale turned nightmare.

Founder and CEO Vern Raburn, once at the top of his game, was ousted last year by foreign investors, led by Roel Pieper... who, despite the pretense of saving the company from financial hardships, failed to do so. The company closed up shop in mid-February -- and entered liquidation two weeks later -- when funds promised by Pieper to purchase the company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy failed to materialize in the global economic downturn... leaving employees, depositors, and existing Eclipse 500 owners in the lurch.

With several new companies now set on acquiring the assets of Eclipse Aviation, the Eclipse 500 may indeed rise from the ashes. However, the biggest twist to the tale yet comes with the announcement that Roel Pieper, the man at Eclipse's helm as it went under, may get another chance to bring ever-elusive success to Eclipse.

As ANN reported, Eclipse 500 owner Mike Press and depositor Mason Holland announced last week their formation of Eclipse Jet LLC. On Friday, they announced names of three other partners in their endeavor -- Raul Segredo, John Cracken, and Pieper.

Pieper (shown below) is the former CEO of Tandem Computer, involved in the design and manufacture of complex fault-tolerant computers before Pieper sold Tandem to Compaq Computers in 1997. Pieper is a former Board member with Compaq and Dutch electronics-giant, Philips Electronics.

"Mike, Raul, and I have come to know Roel Pieper through our discussions with him during the course of the Eclipse bankruptcy," Holland said. "Roel reluctantly took over as CEO of Eclipse in July of 2008, and due to the worldwide economic crisis at the end of 2008, he was unable to fund his plan to turn around the company. When we set out to determine how to maximize the value of Eclipse's assets and ensure our ability to deliver value to customers, Roel proved very helpful.

"For the last year, he's been in the midst of Eclipse's diligence in connection with reducing its production costs and expanding the market for the Eclipse 500 throughout Europe. He understands from actual experience all of the issues Mike, Raul and I have been modeling. Our go-forward plan is now better informed regarding how to deliver the Eclipse 500 to a worldwide audience and avoid the pitfalls Eclipse learned through its past experiences," Holland said.

Raul Segredo is the co-founder, President and CEO of aerospace services provider Avionica. John Cracken is a Managing Director of Dallas-based private equity firm Cracken, Harkey & Co. LLC.

"Our five-person team intends to capture Eclipse's assets, lead a transition team to both restore fleet services and support and recruit a seasoned senor management team to lead Eclipse and resume production," Holland said.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, www.spjets.com