Safran agrees to sell IFEC unit to private equity firm Kingswood

Safran has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its inflight entertainment and connectivity division, Safran Passenger Innovations (SPI), to Los Angeles-based private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management.

The move is part of a broader strategy by the French aerospace giant to sell aircraft cabin interiors activates that it deems “non-core” to its business. Roughly 30% of of the former activities of Zodiac Aerospace — which was acquired by Safran in 2018 — are in line to be divested.

Formerly known as Zodiac Inflight Innovations, SPI is best known for its RAVE and RAVE Ultra branded seatback IFE systems. The hardware counts a raft of top tier carriers as customers — China Southern, Etihad, Hainan Airlines and SAS to name a few — and has been installed on thousands of aircraft.

“Our team has always been the driving force behind RAVE’s success, and this new chapter with Kingswood empowers us to take that success to the next level. Together, we are unlocking opportunities for accelerated growth, expansion, and investing in cutting-edge technologies that will redefine the inflight experience,” says Matt Smith, CEO at SPI.

“This partnership adds significant value to our company, enabling us to strengthen our capabilities while staying true to our company culture. I am confident that with the dedication of our people and the support of our new partners, we will shape a future that benefits our customers, employees, and stakeholders alike.”

Enjoying linefit offerability across Airbus’ portfolio, SPI has also long provided inflight connectivity antenna hardware to the market, including terminals based on Honeywell’s JetWave Ka-band gimbaled antenna and later ThinKom Solutions’ Ka2517 VICTS antenna.

According to Safran, the IFEC unit generates approximately $460 million in revenue and employs around 740 people at sites in Brea, California, which serves as its headquarters, and Wessling, Germany. It also has additional field offices all over the world.

“Kingswood will leverage its capital base, operational network, and expertise to grow the business and help it develop new connected inflight entertainment solutions, which have become a key element of passenger experience as the aviation industry continues to expand,” Safran says in a statement.

“The transaction is subject to obtaining the applicable regulatory approvals and the customary conditions for this type of transaction. Completion of the transaction is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2026.”

Kingswood describes itself as a firm that “partners with leading companies in the middle market that stand to benefit from our capital and extensive operating resources. We embrace complexity and are well positioned to support businesses at inflection points in their development to drive durable value.”

Clayton Lechleiter, principal at Kingswood, says, “We have conviction in Matt [Smith’s] vision and believe firmly that with RAVE, he and his team have engineered a seamless platform that is the most reliable in market and results in the lowest total cost of ownership for many respected global airline customers.

“The products and services SPI has developed are key elements of both the passenger experience that travelers expect and the evolving marketing channels airlines are only beginning to monetize.”

Alex Wolf, managing partner and founder of Kingswood, adds, “We are elated that SPI and its RAVE platform are joining the growing Kingswood portfolio. This cross-border carve-out acquisition represents our second aerospace and defense investment at Kingswood.

“We saw this as an opportunity to partner with a great team with an exceptional, globally recognized product in a rapidly growing sector and are looking forward to working with Matt and the entire SPI team to support an exciting new phase of operations as a standalone company.”

Goodwin Procter LLP and Configure Partners advised Kingswood on the investment.

A tier-1 supplier of engines, systems and equipment in aerospace and defense, Safran added profound aircraft interiors content to its portfolio when it acquired Zodiac seven years ago. During a recent earnings conference call, Safran management assured that aircraft seats continue to be a core part of its business.

Of note: a material number of Safran’s seat wins include a RAVE embedded IFE component so Safran will continue to work closely with Kingswood on these seat/IFE integration projects.

Safran’s agreement with Kingswood comes less than six weeks after another IFEC player, Anuvu, was snatched up by Beverly Hills, California-based private equity firm Platinum Equity.

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