EVENDALE, Ohio: GE Aerospace will acquire Consolidated Precision Products for US$11.75 billion, bringing a major supplier of precision castings in-house as the company seeks to increase manufacturing capacity amid strong demand for aircraft engines, spare parts and defense products.

The acquisition of CPP from investment firms Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners will be GE Aerospace's largest since it became a standalone company. The transaction gives the company greater control over a critical part of the jet-engine supply chain as engine makers work to increase production and reduce supply-chain risks.

"Investing in mission-critical casting capacity is needed to support the strong simultaneous demand across commercial engines, aftermarket and defense," GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp said.

"By combining GE Aerospace's technology capabilities and flight deck with CPP's manufacturing experience, we expect to expand capacity, improve performance and accelerate new engine technologies for the current fleet and next-generation platforms."

GE Aerospace shares were marginally lower in morning trading, while shares of smaller rival Howmet Aerospace fell 6 percent.

The deal comes a few days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk outlined the company's ambitions to manufacture turbine blades to meet its own power needs.

The investment castings market is in "war games mode", Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said in a note.

Engine makers have repeatedly complained about a shortage of castings that has weighed on production.

CPP is one of the world's largest producers of investment and precision sand castings, metal components made by pouring molten alloy into highly precise molds. It supplies parts for nearly every major current-generation commercial and military aircraft program, as well as helicopters, weapon systems and industrial gas turbines.

About 70 percent of CPP's revenue comes from commercial and defense engines, with most of the remainder generated by missiles and power-generation equipment.

GE Aerospace expects demand for airfoils, precision-cast turbine blades and vanes that operate under extreme heat and are central to engine efficiency and durability, to increase more than 30 percent by 2030.

The company said acquiring CPP would more closely connect airfoil design and production, shorten development cycles and improve manufacturing readiness as it increases output.

GE Aerospace plans to finance the acquisition using cash on hand and newly raised debt.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2027 and is projected to increase GE Aerospace's adjusted profit per share and free cash flow in the first year.

GE Aerospace is paying the equivalent of 26 times CPP's expected 2027 core profit, excluding anticipated integration benefits. Including those benefits, the transaction values CPP at 18 times its projected 2027 EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.