IFPL and Cobalt Aerospace announce merger

Passenger interface specialist IFPL Group is expanding its portfolio of offerings with the acquisition of Cobalt Aerospace. Together, the two companies will offer customers a broader range of products and services that will allow operators to enhance their in-flight passenger experience offering.

With an upsurge in interest, and with exciting new products in the pipeline, by combining the considerable skills and expertise within both businesses, we will significantly broaden our offering to our combined customer base.

– Geoff Underwood, Chairman and CEO of IFPL Group

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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An expanded product portfolio

Cobalt Aerospace is a relatively new player in the market, founded in 2013, but its success did not go unnoticed. Geoff Underwood, Chairman and CEO of IFPL Group commented, “We have known Cobalt since their formation in 2013 and have watched with interest as they have brought several innovative solutions to market, with Cobalt Spectrum mood lighting and, more recently, the GLS-7 floor path marking system.”

Those products will be integrated into the IFPL suite of offerings, mostly focused on data, power, and audio systems going forward.

Cobalt Aerospace sees the potential for the combined companies as a win for customers. Co-founder and Director Ben Brown notes, “This merger will allow us to combine our innovations with IFPL’s many years of expertise and impressive scale, meaning that together we can offer customers a wealth of products to enhance the in-flight experience.”

It is also an opportunity for a stronger recovery than the companies might sustain individually as they emerge from the pandemic.

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Certifications services, too

Cobalt Aerospace will also bring their specialist certification knowledge and status as a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Part 21J Design Organization to IFPL Group. This means the group will be able to support customers aircraft changes across a variety of areas including avionics, cabin interiors, and electrical systems.

Bringing that skill-set in-house should benefit IFPL’s development and production efforts as it smooths the overall certification process. Indeed, this may prove the most significant part of the transaction over the longer term.