Bristow buys $30m stake in Airnorth

Perth-headquartered Bristow Helicopters Australia has acquired an 85 per cent interest in Darwin-based Airnorth for $30.3 million.

Airnorth will keep its name and brand identity, and will continue to operate under the direction of its chief executive, Michael Bridge.

Mr Bridge will remain on the Airnorth board, accompanied by three new representatives of Bristow.

In a statement, Bristow said the Airnorth acquisition would enable it to extend its existing operations beyond rotary-wing to include fixed-wing, enhancing its service to clients as an integrated aviation provider.

“The partnership expands Bristow’s existing oil and gas client base for new business in South-East Asia, and gains new client segments, including business and leisure passengers travelling to regional and remote communities and resource industry workers,” Bristow said.

Airnorth’s fleet consists of 13 aircraft, nine turboprop and four new technology regional jets, while Bristow holds a fleet of 31 helicopters.

Bristow chief executive Jonathan Baliff said the two companies were culturally and operationally aligned.

“This investment strengthens our ability to provide a suite of point-to-point transportation services for existing Australian-based passengers and create more integrated, logistics solutions for our global clients,” he said.

Bristow supports oil and gas exploration and production from bases in Darwin, Truscott, Karratha, Barrow Island, Broome, Exmouth and others.