Beechcraft Secures Funding for Future Aircraft Development

Stephen Pope

Tuesday, November 06, 2012 at 11:30 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Hawker Beechcraft is exiting bankruptcy by shedding its jet product line to focus on revitalizing its piston and turboprop models under the new "Beechcraft" name.
New owners, a consortium of four secured creditors, have pledged funding for the development of one new piston model and up to three new turboprop models, including a Pratt & Whitney-powered turboprop single based on the Premier I fuselage.
The bankruptcy exit plan grants 81.1% of the company's new equity to these four senior lenders, with current owners Goldman Sachs and Onex Capital Partners stepping away.
The company also plans to introduce new "alternative fuel" engines, likely jet-A-burning diesels, for its Bonanza and Baron models.

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After Hawker Beechcraft last week revealed plans to resuscitate its ailing business by shedding its jet product portfolio and focusing on a line of revitalized piston and turboprop models, a big unanswered question centered on where the bankrupt company would find the funding to develop and certify not just one but as many as four new airplanes.

Now we have an answer. According to insiders, Hawker Beechcraft’s new owners have pledged the money the manufacturer will need to launch one new piston model and perhaps as many as three new turboprop models in the coming years. The first of these could be a Pratt & Whitney-powered turboprop single based on the composite fuselage of the Premier I light business jet, the company revealed.