Evergreen Helicopters sold to Erickson Air-Crane

Evergreen Aviation has agreed to sell off its subsidary Evergreen Helicopters Inc. to Portland-based Erickson Air-Crane Inc. in a deal that could top out at $276 million, it was announced Tuesday.

The Evergreen family of companies has seen a spate of lawsuits in recent months, alleging failure to pay bills, and has had its credit sharply downgraded by Standard & Poor's, and Moody's, and in 2012, paid employees late on multiple occasions.

Erickson went public last year and operates a fleet of 14 heavy-lift helicopters. With its purchase of Evergreen helicopters, the company will add 64 aircrafts to its fleet, consisting of both helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes. The fleet serves customers around the world, with a current presence in North America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Under terms of the deal, which is expected to close during the second quarter of this year, Evergreen helicopters will be acquired for $185 million in cash, $17.5 million in unsecured promissory notes issued by Erickson Air-Crane and about four million preferred shares of Erickson Air-Crane, valued at $47.5 million. An additional $26.3 million may be paid to Evergreen, contingent on certain revenue targets for the calendar years 2013, 2014 and 2015.

The sale marks the departure of Evergreen Aviation's founding business. Owner Delford Smith founded Evergreen Helicopters  in 1960. 

See the article in Friday's News-Register for more details.