Cirrus chairman and co-founder Dale Klapmeier this week sought to put an end to talk of a possible counter bid to a buyout deal from a Chinese aviation company. “There is no counter offer,” Klapmeier said at Sun ‘n Fun on Wednesday when asked about the news that a group of private U.S. investors led by market analyst Brian Foley was banding together to outbid China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA) Co. for the assets of Cirrus.
Foley told Flying he has received commitments from investors for about half the money he needs to bid on Cirrus, which has a rumored selling price north of $200 million. Klapmeier’s response was incredulous. “We’ve talked with everyone in this industry who might be interested in buying Cirrus,” he said. “The chance that somebody who has never talked with the company could come in and bid for Cirrus at this stage is beyond remote.”
