CAE concludes 15-year exclusive business aviation training services agreement with Directional Aviation Capital affiliates and acquisition of 50 percent of SIMCOM

MONTREAL, Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - (NYSE: CAE); (TSX: CAE) CAE confirmed that it has concluded the previously announced strategic partnership with Directional Aviation Capital (DAC), one of the largest, fastest growing, and most innovative corporate aviation service companies globally, as well as the acquisition of 50 percent of the shares of SIMCOM Holdings Inc.

As part of this transaction, which was first announced on August 29, 2019, CAE acquired for approximately US$85 million a fifty-percent stake in SIMCOM Holdings, Inc. 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 CAE's position in the business aviation training market in support of the worldwide in-service fleet," said Marc Parent, CAE's President and CEO. "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."

"CAE's investment in SIMCOM along with our new long-term partnership will allow us to realize our vision of creating industry leading training solutions for private aviation," said Kenn Ricci, Principal of Directional Capital. "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 CAE 7000XR Series full-flight simulators (FFSs) and five CAE 400XR Series flight training devices (FTDs) 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.

About Directional Aviation
Directional Aviation Capital is a private investment firm whose singular focus is private business aviation. Combining strategic aviation ownership, unmatched experience and revolutionary vision, Directional continues to innovate and reshape private aviation. Directional's unique industry expertise enables them to quickly understand business aviation companies and provide the financing and operational strategy needed to take advantage of evolving market opportunities. Directional's OneSky Flight portfolio of private jet travel providers includes shared ownership/fractional jet ownership, jet card, membership and on-demand charter providers. Industry leaders representing MRO, private jet remanufacturing, aviation parts distribution and more also make up the Directional family. Directional Aviation is charting the course of private aviation, worldwide. For more information, visit www.directionalaviation.com.

About SIMCOM
A privately-owned, comprehensive learning institution, SIMCOM utilizes realistic simulator-based training to provide advanced aviation training services to professional pilots, owner-operators, Part 135 operators and maintenance personnel operating in general aviation, regional, military, government and cargo operations around the world.  SIMCOM currently operates 47 simulators and flight training devices representative of a wide range of jet, turboprop and piston powered aircraft.  The company is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.  www.simulator.com

About CAE
CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 10,000 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 220,000 civil and defence crewmembers, including more than 135,000 pilots, and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. www.cae.com Follow us on Twitter: CAE_Inc

SOURCE CAE INC.