GE Aerospace to Buy Casting Supplier CPP for $11.75 Billion

GE Aerospace's $11.75 Billion Move to Own Engine Castings

GE Aerospace announced on 8 September that it will acquire aerospace castings specialist Consolidated Precision Products for $11.75 billion. The deal is aimed squarely at relieving supply-chain constraints by bringing a critical part of engine production inside the company.

Chief Executive Larry Culp said the investment is needed to support demand that is rising simultaneously across commercial engines, the aftermarket and defense. GE Aerospace is carrying a large order backlog stretching over the next decade and needs sufficient production capacity to meet orders it has already booked.

CPP is a major player in precision sand casting, a process that pours molten metal into moulds to make complex components. It is a key supplier for GE's LEAP and GEnx engines and supplies parts used across nearly all current-generation large commercial aircraft. Around 70% of its revenue comes from commercial and defense engines. GE expects CPP to produce about $2 billion in revenue in 2027 and sees demand for airfoils, including turbine blades and vanes that operate in the hottest parts of an engine, rising more than 30% by 2030 compared with 2026.

GE plans to increase CPP's output by improving factory yields and machine utilization while reducing scrap and rework. It also expects closer coordination of airfoil design and manufacturing to shorten development cycles and speed production of new parts. The deal values CPP at about 26 times projected core earnings for 2027, falling to roughly 18 times when expected synergies are included. GE will fund $7 billion of the purchase with cash and the remainder with new borrowing, with completion expected in the second half of 2027.

Why GE Aerospace Is Insourcing CPP Now

The acquisition is a large vertical-integration bet at a time when engine output, rather than demand, has become the industry's main constraint. GE is seeking control over a production bottleneck that affects multiple high-priority programmes.

GE Aerospace's Backlog and the Castings Bottleneck

GE is not buying CPP to enter a new market; it is buying the ability to execute on demand it already has. The company's description of a decade-long backlog means the financial risk is not idle capacity, but failure to deliver engines quickly enough. By owning CPP, GE aims to remove a supplier negotiation and scheduling layer from one of the tightest parts of its engine supply chain.

CPP's Role in LEAP and GEnx Engines

CPP is not a minor vendor. Its involvement in the LEAP and GEnx programmes puts it at the centre of the current narrowbody and widebody fleets. The fact that its components are used across nearly all major current-generation commercial aircraft means a capacity problem at CPP could ripple through deliveries to Airbus and Boeing, as well as airlines waiting for aircraft. Bringing that capacity in-house gives GE direct visibility and control over production decisions.

The 26-Times-Earnings Question

The headline valuation looks high, but the synergy-adjusted multiple of about 18 times suggests GE is paying for operational improvements it believes it can capture: higher yields, better machine utilization, less scrap and less rework. Those are execution assumptions, not guaranteed financial gains. The financing structure also matters: $7 billion in cash reduces dilution, but the remaining new borrowing will add leverage to GE Aerospace's balance sheet until the deal generates returns.

What the CPP Deal Means for GE, Airlines and Suppliers

The deal's practical impact is split between GE Aerospace, its customers and the wider supply chain.

• For GE Aerospace management: The integration plan should be judged on the specific levers GE has named: improved factory yields, higher machine utilization, lower scrap and reduced rework. Those metrics, alongside stable LEAP and GEnx delivery performance, are the clearest early measures of whether the acquisition is working.
• For investors: The headline price is about 26 times CPP's projected 2027 core earnings, or roughly 18 times after expected synergies. The key near-term questions are how much new debt is added beyond the $7 billion cash portion and whether CPP's projected 2027 revenue of about $2 billion stays on track before the H2 2027 closing.
• For airlines and aircraft buyers: The deal may eventually reduce engine-delivery risk, but not immediately. With completion expected only in the second half of 2027 and integration gains likely to follow, the capacity relief this deal is designed to create will not solve near-term delivery delays.
• For aerospace suppliers: GE's decision to internalise precision sand casting for critical engine parts signals that it prefers captive capacity in bottleneck areas. Suppliers exposed to GE airfoil and castings packages should assess whether that work could move in-house over time.