I'm sure it is, but in the context of the LSA category and specifically regarding weight exemption requests, as things are written now it's not a consideration they will even look at.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyfalcons
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I'm sure it is, but in the context of the LSA category and specifically regarding weight exemption requests, as things are written now it's not a consideration they will even look at.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyfalcons
Well, while we continue to wait, and wait, and wait, and wait for the FAA to answer.....
Icon Aircraft posted an announcement on their site today regarding a new round of investment (worth $60M) that the company has just completed. In the press release, they also make a brief mention of the continued production delays and add a little hint of future products through their R&D efforts.
Here's hoping the FAA wraps this up by Airventure!!
Full Text of the press release:
ICON Aircraft Raises $60 Million of Investment Capital for Full-Scale Production
LOS ANGELES (20 June 2013)—ICON Aircraft announced that it raised its fourth and final round of equity
funding in May. The round, which totals over $60 million, included investors from North America,
Europe, and Asia. The company will use the funds to complete production preparations, demonstrate
regulatory compliance, ramp up full-scale aircraft production, and perform R&D to expand its model
line.
“We are thrilled to have the support of such a distinguished and passionate group of investors,” said Kirk
Hawkins, CEO and Founder of ICON Aircraft. “For the first time in ICON’s history, the company’s future is
no longer reliant on the whims of the capital markets, which have been highly unstable over the last five
years. This D round includes an outstanding group of investors who are very committed to ICON’s
mission to democratize flying. The round was led by a top-notch privately held strategic investor from
China. The entire round represents a minority, non-controlling interest in ICON which ensures ICON’s
original mission and strategy remains completely intact; the A5 will be U.S.-built, and the company will
continue to be a U.S.-based, -led, and -managed organization.”
ICON is backed by a strong syndicate of North American, European, and now Asian investors. The
participation of ICON’s Asian investor serves an important strategic goal of positioning ICON to capitalize
on Asia’s rapidly growing General Aviation industry. This investor is a multibillion-dollar conglomerate
and is well established in the Chinese General Aviation industry, which makes the collaboration
especially valuable to ICON.
In a letter to A5 deposit holders, Hawkins acknowledged the production delays of the A5 and thanked
owners for their continued patience and enthusiasm. He also pointed out that the extra development
time permitted significant improvements to the A5 amphibious Light Sport Aircraft, including the
inclusion of a Spin-Resistant Airframe (SRA). The company’s order list has continued to grow during this
period, with nearly 1,000 aircraft deposits.
“Creating a great aircraft and a great company from scratch is an extraordinarily difficult task,” added
Hawkins. “Furthermore, financing such an endeavor is an order of magnitude harder than just creating
it—and fundraising is particularly difficult for aviation startups. This has been a longer and more
challenging journey than even we had anticipated; that said, ICON is now in a great place. For everyone
who has kept the faith, remained a great wingman, and waited patiently for the A5, you’re going to get
the most amazing sport aircraft ever created.”
For more information, visit www.iconaircraft.com.
[QUOTE=kmhd1;31883]ICON Aircraft Raises $60 Million of Investment Capital for Full-Scale Production
QUOTE]
Raising this amount of financing in a single round from private equity is no small task for any type of industry. To raise it for GA and a start-up to boot is simply extraordinary, especially in today's tight economy. It shows a lot of confidence in the company, it's people and the product, not to mention 1000 pre-orders.
Now, the $64M dollar question is, is the FAA going to play Cinderella or Spoiler? Even if they deny the request, I'm sure that a portion of this round is allocated to strategic contingencies(e.g. Primary Category + SLSA).
C'mon FAA...inquiring minds want to know! Maybe they'll charge Icon a user fee to get the decision.
.
Icon must have hired the Rev. Jim Jones......I can't think of anyone else who can convince that many people to drink the kool-aid.
He committed suicide 30 years ago(along with hundreds of innocent desciples).Quote:
Originally Posted by martymayes
That's a popular expression, though most people don't know the horrific origin. For those of us do... Marty, I think you can come up with a less offensive analogy next time.
I don't understand how any group could "invest" $60 million and yet not get a controlling interest.
Could these announcements be fiction?
$60 million divided by 1000 orders is $60,000 each.
Because the interest held by the majority shareholders in the capitalized value of the company is greater in proportional percentage to the $60M held by the minority shareholders. Simple!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Berson
Because ICONˊs DNA is very special, the Chinese investor made a good decision to keep ICON as an American company, will release negative concern on this deal.
I have a good feeling about FAAˊs response. Let the market make the judgement on A5.Good will be good anyway, if itˊs bad, a waive on weight wonˊt save it, fair game.