CAE has concluded its strategic partnership with Directional Aviation Capital (DAC) and has acquired 50 per cent of the shares of SimCom Holdings.

As part of this transaction, which was first announced on 29 August, CAE acquired for approximately US$85 million a 50 per cent stake in SimCom. In addition, DAC's affiliated business aircraft operators, which include Flexjet, Flight Options, Flairjet, Sirio, Nextant Aerospace and Corporate Wings have entered into a 15-year exclusive training services agreement with SimCom and CAE. In all, these companies operate 175 business aircraft and have more than 80 aircraft on order.

“Our partnership with Directional Aviation Capital and our investment in SimCom further strengthen our position in the business aviation training market in support of the worldwide in-service fleet,” says CAE president and CEO Marc Parent. “We are very pleased to become the training partner of choice for Directional Aviation and its affiliates with our 15-year exclusive training services agreement. Our customers and SimCom customers will have access to a new state-of-the-art training centre, currently under development in Lake Nona, Florida, which will house five new CAE full-flight simulators."

Directional principal Kenn Ricci adds: “CAE's investment in SimCom along with our new long-term partnership will allow us to realise our vision of creating industry leading training solutions for private aviation. CAE provides access to industry leading technology and training expertise which will allow us to better serve both internal and external customers.”

As announced on October 22, 2019, SimCom has purchased five 7000XR Series full-flight simulators and five 400XR Series flight training devices from CAE. These FFSs include a Gulfstream G650, two Bombardier Challenger CL350s, one Embraer Phenom 300 and one Embraer Legacy 500. SimCom plans to install its new CAE training equipment in the new training centre which is under development in Lake Nona, Florida.