Textron Aviation

Textron Aviation is the general aviation business unit of the American Textron group formed in March 2014 following the acquisition of Beech Holdings which included the Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft businesses. The new business unit includes the Textron-owned Cessna. Textron Aviation will sell Beechcraft, Cessna, and Hawker branded aircraft under common management.

The CEO of Cessna, Scott Ernest, was named as the first CEO of Textron Aviation Incorporated.

History

Textron completed its purchase of Beech Holdings in March 2014 for approximately US$1.4B in cash. The parent company, Textron, financed the equity purchase and the repayment of Beechcraft's debt in cash, plus its issue of US$600 million in senior notes and a new US$500M five-year term loan.

Once the purchase was completed on March 14, 2014, Textron combined Beechcraft with its existing Cessna subsidiary to form Textron Aviation and brought all production under the new company name. The old companies become brands of the new company due to their historical significance and name recognition.