Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

The bidding process for the sale of Piaggio Aerospace is reopening after negotiations with a single prospective buyer faltered and the terms of that buyer had fallen outside of the parameters of the tender, Piaggio Aerospace extraordinary commissioner Vincenzo Nicastro reported. “Negotiations have simply stalled, as no binding offer has ever been submitted,” Nicastro said.

 


Piaggio, which entered extraordinary receivership in late 2018, had originally attracted 19 expressions of interest for the acquisition of the corporate assets of Piaggio Aero Industries and Piaggio Aviation, the two companies operating under the Piaggio Aerospace brand. That was narrowed to four earlier this year and in July Nicastro <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-07-26/single-bidder-enters-final-negotiations-piaggio">obtained approval from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development</a> to negotiate with a single potential investor, reportedly a consortium headed by the Swedish fund Summa Equity.

 


The exclusivity, however, expired on September 15 after “no formal step has been taken from their side,” Nicastro said. “The potential investor made us just aware of what the conditions would be for the purchase. These conditions were…not consistent with the tender rules they had formally accepted and were linked to events that were difficult to happen.”

 


He said in light of those developments and in agreement with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, “we decided therefore to start discussions with other parties interested in purchasing the company assets.”

 


He is anticipating tighter deadlines for the next rounds, including for both due diligence and the submission of binding offers. Details for bidding are anticipated in the next few weeks.

 


Nicastro is encouraged, however, that&nbsp;Piaggio appears to be in a stronger position for a new buyer with employment currently numbering around 900 workers and the company completing one of its best financial years in recent history, including an expected turnover of €150 million ($169 million) and a €500 million order portfolio. In addition, another €180 million in orders&nbsp;are in the process of being finalized and should be announced shortly, he said.

Bidding for Piaggio Aerospace To Reopen

Talks with a single buyer for Paiggio Aerospace had stalled, leading the company's extraordinary commissioner to decide to renew the bidding process.

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