HedgeCo.Net — Antin Infrastructure Partners said it acquired a majority stake in High Performance Helicopters Corp. (HP Helicopters), a Redlands, California specialty helicopter operator focused on aerial firefighting and critical utility infrastructure work. The investment is being made by Antin’s €1.2 billion NextGen Infrastructure Fund I and is the fund’s eighth deal, according to the firm’s Business Wire release carried by StreetInsider. Co-founder and CEO Brad Bauder will retain a minority stake. Terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 2005, HP Helicopters’ fleet currently serves customers in 10 Western U.S. states, including state and federal agencies, utilities, EPC firms, and aerospace and defense clients. IPE Real Assets reported the same majority-stake structure and said the company appointed Santiago Crespo as chief financial officer to support fleet expansion. Antin partners Angelika Schöchlin and Stephan Feilhauer said the plan centers on expanding the fleet, improving efficiencies, and shifting toward long-term exclusive-use contracts amid a structural supply shortage for heavy-duty helicopters.
The deal fits NextGen’s thesis of building “tomorrow’s infrastructure today,” Antin said, rather than classic contracted brownfield utilities. Specialty aviation with government and utility offtake sits at the edge of infrastructure definitions, which may matter for LPs with strict infra mandates. Antin’s broader platform manages over €33 billion across Flagship, Mid Cap, and NextGen strategies, per the release.
For infrastructure and real-asset allocators, HP Helicopters is an operating-services platform bet on fleet scarcity and exclusive contracting, not a regulated asset with a tariff. Underwriting should stress utilization, insurance, pilot availability, and wildfire-season concentration risk alongside the growth plan Antin has outlined.