GE Aerospace to acquire airfoil maker CPP for $11.75bn

GE Aerospace said on 8 September that it will acquire airfoil producer Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) for $11.75 billion. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2027.

Analysts see the acquisition as a long-term strategic step rather than just a response to supply chain constraints. It reduces GE's dependence on suppliers and gives it control over complex components that are often in short supply.

CPP manufactures cast metallic components, including turbofan blades and vanes. These airfoils are exacting and difficult to produce. The company also makes other aerospace parts such as flaps, ducts, housings, hubs, fittings and valves, using titanium, steel, aluminium, magnesium and nickel.

Kevin Michaels, founder and managing director of aerospace consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, said the move is not a faulty vertical integration that will backfire. "It positions GE and CFM to be in control of their density," he said.

GE owns CFM International in partnership with Safran Aircraft Engines. Alex Krutz, managing director at Patriot Industrial Partners, said GE can bring its lean programme, known as Flight Deck, to CPP. "GE's operating system will improve that business," he said.

Krutz added that the deal does not solve the significant constraints in the castings and forgings segment of the supply chain. Observers also noted the acquisition may help break an airfoil duopoly, though it may not benefit the aerospace industry more broadly.