Thu, Jul 31, 2003
Fifth Round of Private Equity Funding Secures $87 Million
Eclipse Aviation Corporation,
manufacturer of the Eclipse 500 jet, today announced completion of
its fifth round of private equity funding for $87 million for a
total of $325 million of equity funding to date. The funding will
be used to complete testing and FAA certification of the Eclipse
500 jet.
"The value proposition created by the Eclipse 500 and the
advanced state of our development program have made Eclipse
Aviation attractive to the investment community, especially now
that Pratt and Whitney Canada has been selected to supply the
engines," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation.
"In one of the most difficult private equity markets seen in
decades, we have raised $87 million in this round and believe the
$325 million in cumulative equity funding to date is the largest
total amount of funding ever raised for a new aircraft company. We
expect this latest round to be our final equity round. We are on
track for FAA certification in early 2006."
EAC Has Raised $325M to Date--Enough For FAA Certification
The capital in this round of financing includes a $10 million
investment from the State of New Mexico's State Investment Council,
which was enabled by a new law enacted in the recent legislative
session. The remainder of the equity capital was from a group of
undisclosed private investors.
"This investment represents the confidence we have in Eclipse as
a sound investment and in recognition of the importance Eclipse
will play in building a high wage economy in New Mexico," said New
Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who supported the State Investment
Council investment in Eclipse.
Test Flights Proceeding
The Eclipse 500 resumed test flight in May equipped with interim
engines and since then, Eclipse Aviation has successfully tested
the aircraft's low-speed handling characteristics and systems
operations. The company's advanced data acquisition system has
enabled Eclipse to learn a significant amount about the aerodynamic
and systems performance of the jet within a relatively short time
period. After completing the development testing of Eclipse 500
aerodynamics and systems with the interim engines, subsequent
flight test aircraft will be used for certification flight testing
with the Pratt & Whitney Canada engines, which will be
available in late 2004. Altogether there are eight test aircraft,
six of which will fly and two of which will be used for structural
testing.
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