DLA Piper has advised Bristow Helicopters Limited (Bristow Helicopters) on its acquisition of a 60% interest in the privately owned Eastern Airways International Limited.

Eastern Airways will continue to operate as normal and under its own brand, led by the current management team.

Bristow is the leading provider of helicopter services to the worldwide offshore energy industry based on the number of aircraft operated, and one of two helicopter service providers to the offshore energy industry with global operations. Bristow has proudly served the offshore oil transport industry in major exploration and production arenas for more than 50 years and has been responsible for many industry-leading technological innovations.

Eastern Airways is a regional fixed wing operator based at Humberside Airport located in North Lincolnshire, England with both charter and scheduled services targeting U.K. oil and gas industry transport.

The DLA Piper team was led by legal director Tony Payne (Regulatory) and partner Andrew Davies (Corporate). They were supported by partner Mark Franklin and associate Shereena Rai (Regulatory), senior associate Amar Maan and associate Lauren Sharpes (Corporate), senior associate Sarah Humpleby and associate Chris Knight (Asset Finance) .

Mike Imlach, Bristow Helicopters Limited’s Managing Director, said: “Bristow and Eastern Airways serve many of the same customers. Our business portfolios are highly complementary in terms of service offerings and geographic footprint. Through this investment, we can leverage our respective strengths to create a seamless experience for passengers travelling to offshore locations.”

James Howell-Richardson, Bristow Helicopters Limited’s Legal Counsel and Company Secretary, said: “This is the first time we have worked with DLA Piper and we would like to thank Tony and the team for the first-rate work they did that enabled our strategic investment in Eastern Airways.”

Tony Payne commented: “DLA Piper has a market-leading Aviation practice who, along with a team of cross-practice lawyers from across the firm’s UK offices, worked together seamlessly to achieve the completion of this important investment for Bristow Helicopters.”