ICON Aircraft has raised $US60 million in equity investment to enable the company to complete production preparation for the A5 amphibious LSA.
The equity - sourced from investors in Asia, Europe and the USA - will enable the company to fund production ramp-up, compliance requirements and research and development.
Kirk Hawkins, CEO and Founder of ICON Aircraft, said the funding will put the company's future on a sure footing.
“We are thrilled to have the support of such a distinguished and passionate group of investors,” he said.
“For the first time in ICON’s history, the company’s future is no longer reliant on the whims of the capital markets, which have been highly unstable over the last five years. This [investment] includes an outstanding group of investors who are very committed to ICON’s mission to democratize flying."
Although the major source of funding was from a Chinese strategic investor, Hawkins stressed that Icon would remain essentially a US company.
"The round was led by a top-notch, privately-held strategic investor from China. The entire round represents a minority, non-controlling interest in ICON which ensures ICON’s original mission and strategy remains completely intact; the A5 will be US-built, and the company will continue to be a US-based, -led, and -managed organization.”
The ICON A5 is a sleek Rotax-powered, high-wing, amphibious LSA capable of 105 knots with a max take-off weight of 648 kg.
In August 2012, ICON and Cirrus signed an agreement for Cirrus to manufacture some airframe components in the Cirrus Grand Forks, North Dakota, factory alongside the SR20 and SR22 component production lines. ICON will retain control of design, integration and final assembly at their plant in Tehachapi, California.
For more details of the A5, go to www.iconaircraft.com