Marathon Asset Management closed a $155 million senior credit facility for Avenger Flight Group, a leading independent provider of enterprise flight training solutions to aviation clients worldwide. Marathon anchored the loan alongside three other investment management firms. Proceeds from the financing repaid existing indebtedness and equipped the Company with growth capital as the aviation industry rebounds from the pandemic. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, AFG serves the global aviation market by offering Full Flight Simulator (FFS) pilot training at its 12 flight training centers in the United States, Latin America and Europe. AFG's focus on high-quality customer service has made it the training partner of choice for a range of customers including low-cost carriers, traditional airlines, cargo transport companies and flight academy customers.

"AFG is an attractive business with a passionate and committed management team," said Michael Alexander, a Managing Director at Marathon. "We believe that AFG has strong growth prospects as airlines ramp up pilot training in anticipation of increased air traffic and as a looming US pilot shortage underpins a secular bull market for flight training companies."

"We are thrilled to partner with Marathon, and we appreciate their confidence in AFG as the sector's most trusted aviation training organization," said Pedro Sors, President & CEO of AFG. "This transaction gives us the flexibility to implement our business development plan, which will deliver mission-critical flight training services to clients worldwide as the aviation industry is poised to begin an unprecedented global rebound."

"We are very excited to welcome AFG into our portfolio of private credit investments," said Jordan Bryk, a Managing Director at Marathon leading its Capital Solutions platform. "This investment is emblematic of how our capital can help high-quality businesses overcome near-term obstacles and position them for long-term growth."