I Squared to buy Orizon in reported $2 billion aerospace manufacturing deal

I Squared Capital has agreed to acquire Orizon Aerostructures, a Kansas City, Missouri, aerospace manufacturer with more than 900 employees across five facilities in Kansas and Oklahoma, and plans to expand its production capacity, according to an Oct. 28 announcement. The deal values Orizon at about $2 billion, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Orizon makes large structural components and subassemblies for commercial aviation, defense and space applications. It supplies parts for the F-35 fighter jet and Boeing’s 737 Max, Bloomberg reported.

The acquisition is a bet on qualified aerospace manufacturing capacity already tied to long-running aircraft programs. Orizon’s exclusive, life-of-program contracts, cost pass-through provisions and demanding qualification requirements were central to the investment case, I Squared Chief Investment Officer Gautam Bhandari said in the statement.

I Squared said its investment would expand production capacity, address aerospace supply-chain bottlenecks and broaden Orizon’s ability to deliver more integrated manufacturing work. Bhandari pointed to aircraft order books stretching more than a decade into the future as the basis for investing in qualified production capacity.

Orizon’s operations combine automation with skilled labor, machining, processing and assembling complex parts in-house. The company also has partnerships with research, technical and academic organizations, according to the announcement.

Founders Charlie Newell, the chief executive, and Henry Newell, the president, will continue to lead Orizon and serve on its board, the announcement said. Senior management will reinvest alongside I Squared. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.