RUMOR: Mooney Purchased

[mooneyflyer]

This post and $3 will not buy you a Starbucks Coffee, but 2 sources indicate Mooney may have been purchased.  I hope it’s true. Anyone on MooneySpace hear anything also?

[N6758N]

I hope its true and that they just make parts! No more airplane sales until they figure out how to actually make a new airplane that sells...I would imagine there is enough parts business to have a small crew full time making parts. A new buyer would inherit all the new tooling and tech they purchased at the factory in recent years for pennies on the dollar...

[gsxrpilot]

I've heard the rumor as well. 

But contrary to popular opinion, I'm happy for them to keep making the Mooneys the way they always have. Let Cirrus make "Toyota's" for the masses, and Mooney can build "Ferrari's" for those who care enough to fly the best.

There's no profit in either approach, but at least we're not flying Clorox bottles with training wheels.

Monica didn't need to make a profit from Mooney, and she would have kept funding Mooney if she could have gotten approval to start building some in China. When that didn't happen, she walked away. I don't think anyone would buy Mooney to have a profitable business. But there are plenty of people out there with enough money that they don't care. And the opportunity to own "Ferrari" is motivation enough.

Just my $0.02

[N6758N]

1 hour ago, gsxrpilot said:

I've heard the rumor as well. 

But contrary to popular opinion, I'm happy for them to keep making the Mooneys the way they always have. Let Cirrus make "Toyota's" for the masses, and Mooney can build "Ferrari's" for those who care enough to fly the best.

There's no profit in either approach, but at least we're not flying Clorox bottles with training wheels.

Monica didn't need to make a profit from Mooney, and she would have kept funding Mooney if she could have gotten approval to start building some in China. When that didn't happen, she walked away. I don't think anyone would buy Mooney to have a profitable business. But there are plenty of people out there with enough money that they don't care. And the opportunity to own "Ferrari" is motivation enough.

Just my $0.02

I agree Paul, but who buys a business if not to make a profit?  Ferrari is also not the greatest comparison- you can be damn sure they make a profit! Think about all the racing teams, sponsorships, advertisements, etc....Maybe if they marketed more like Ferrari they could be on to something...

Edited February 21, 2020 by N6758N

[WilliamR]

Paul, as an I Banker I would not want to have to show that pitch book.  Would the first page say something like, "This company burns cash faster than you could shovel it into a fire, but damn, the product sure is purdy."

Title page would be: Project Forest Fire.

Ha!

Actually, I do believe there are some hidden gems in this company. 

William 

 

[chriscalandro]

“The company runs as efficiently as a burning gas station”

[gsxrpilot]

LOL William,  I'll agree with you completely. The problem is that there is no pitch to be made from profitability perspective. But my point is that there are lots of rich people who buy/fund projects and companies just for the love/fun/interest without any hope of profit anytime in the near or even far future. Think of the boondoggles Bezos, Musk, Rutan, and even Paul Allen prior to his death, are all involved in.

Ferrari is the worst business model for profitability in the car business. They are barely profitable and have been in and out of bankruptcy several times in their history. They survive because people give them money just to be associated with a sexy brand. 

Mooney has tried to compete with Cirrus and that just hasn't worked out very well. 

I'd rather see them go all in and chase the super high end luxury market. Keep producing a niche product selling to people who can buy whatever they want without ever having to balance the checkbook. I can't imagine I'll ever be a buyer of a new Mooney, but I like being a Mooney owner and therefore being associated with the brand. Kinda like I'll never own a brand new 911, but I can own a 996, and still call myself a Porsche owner.

Anyway, none of us really know the motivation of the rumored buyer, and this is just my $0.02 as an interested party on the sidelines. 

I think I'll head to the hangar and love on my very own Mooney for a bit. 

 

[Oscar Avalle]

Regardless, if I am going to be able to purchase a new M20... (which I am not), I hope the brand and the company continues to exist. 

 

Oscar

[aviatoreb]

Fingers crossed its true.

[steingar]

Aviation is really, really weird.  People get stars in their eyes with aviation in a way not seen in any other industry.  And who's going to own an airplane factory and not make airplanes?  I strongly suspect Mooney will soldier on.

[aviatoreb]

35 minutes ago, steingar said:

Aviation is really, really weird.  People get stars in their eyes with aviation in a way not seen in any other industry.  And who's going to own an airplane factory and not make airplanes?  I strongly suspect Mooney will soldier on.

When you describe such people I think of the likes of Howard Hughes.  3 parts passion 2 parts know how 2 parts energy - go go get em 2 parts vision and not a lot of wisdom.  But sometimes folks like that get something going!

we need a Howard-Hughes type mixed with a “I liked it so much I bought the company” type to buyer.

Edited February 21, 2020 by aviatoreb

[Igor_U]

3 hours ago, mooneyflyer said:

This post and $3 will not buy you a Starbucks Coffee, but 2 sources indicate Mooney may have been purchased.  I hope it’s true. Anyone on MooneySpace hear anything also?

Well,

Shortly after the factory was closed the first time (November?) a customer that my employer is providing airworthiness consultation and testing services went to see the facilities as they were interested in purchase.

Company is electric aviation startup company building disruptive solutions (haven’t we heard this before in 100+ years of flying) and I can’t see it suitable for purchase unless going only for cheap facility and Production certificate. I doubt they would keep the parts department running.

 

I hope someone buys the factory as parts and fleet support business as I believe we need that regardless of some opinions here… on the other hand, I saw some factory parts pricing the other day on LASAR website and my jaw dropped. Not surprised everyone is looking for alternatives…

[steingar]

11 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

When you describe such people I think of the likes of Howard Hughes.  3 parts passion 2 parts know how 2 parts energy - go go get em 2 parts vision and not a lot of wisdom.  But sometimes folks like that get something going!

we need a Howard-Hughes type mixed with a “I liked it so much I bought the company” type to buy.

Hugh walked into an infant industry and made waves.  What we have is a mature industry, unless someone creates a novel disruptive technology.  In that event Mooney will be gone and forgotten.  In a mature industry we can only expect things to continue as they are.

[aviatoreb]

38 minutes ago, steingar said:

Hugh walked into an infant industry and made waves.  What we have is a mature industry, unless someone creates a novel disruptive technology.  In that event Mooney will be gone and forgotten.  In a mature industry we can only expect things to continue as they are.

Sure I quite agree - but nonetheless I am describing a personality.  The kind of personality of a person who might buy into something not just for cold hard business reasons but for reasons of passion and belief in the underlying topic.  Note I said ,"we need a Howard-Hughes type mixed with a “I liked it so much I bought the company” type to buyer".  The "I liked it so much I bought the company..." is important too.

BTW I think of Elon Musk as a sort of modern version of Hughes.  I don't mean in all ways re emotional and mental health stability but still I think there are strong parallels.

[chriscalandro]

Liking something so much you buy the company usually suggests someone who likes a product enough they want to have an active roll in its money making potential. 
 

Let’s be realistic, the current offering isn’t competitive. That’s been clearly proven. 
 

I don’t think this buyer will exist for Mooney. 

[RobertGary1]

4 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

LOL William,  I'll agree with you completely. The problem is that there is no pitch to be made from profitability perspective.

 

With the tooling and STC you can make a pretty nice living. Start with just approving parts that are manufactured by your suppliers anyway. The STC prints its own money. The fleet is more than big enough to make a go of it.

-Robert

[Mooney in Oz]

3 hours ago, steingar said:

Aviation is really, really weird

Like a rooster one day then a feather duster the next 

[Yetti]

So many people building RVs....    2 week owner assist build to fly   So many people would jump on this they would need a fly swatter.

[RobertGary1]

1 hour ago, Mooney in Oz said:

Like a rooster one day then a feather duster the next 

Is that filed in the same dictionary as putting shrimps on the barbie?

-Robert

[RedSkyFlyer]

Anyone know how much the Chinese owners want for it? 
 

@WilliamR

 

[philiplane]

The problem is that there is a declining population of airplane buyers. We are not returning to the glory days of the late 1970's, when the factories were churning out a combined 13,000 planes a year. 

The current market cannot support five airplane manufacturers (Cessna, Beech, Piper, Cirrus, Mooney) with similar products anymore. Not with a total production of less than 2,500 planes.

[aviatoreb]

2 minutes ago, philiplane said:

The problem is that there is a declining population of airplane buyers. We are not returning to the glory days of the late 1970's, when the factories were churning out a combined 13,000 planes a year. 

The current market cannot support five airplane manufacturers (Cessna, Beech, Piper, Cirrus, Mooney) with similar products anymore. Not with a total production of less than 2,500 planes.

...and Diamond.

[Brian E.]

2 hours ago, philiplane said:

The problem is that there is a declining population of airplane buyers. We are not returning to the glory days of the late 1970's, when the factories were churning out a combined 13,000 planes a year. 

The current market cannot support five airplane manufacturers (Cessna, Beech, Piper, Cirrus, Mooney) with similar products anymore. Not with a total production of less than 2,500 planes.

I truly don't understand why in today's economy why demand is so low--where has the adventure gone? Experimental?  LSA?  Regardless--driving sucks!

[toto]

3 minutes ago, Brian E. said:

I truly don't understand why in today's economy why demand is so low--where has the adventure gone? Experimental?  LSA?  Regardless--driving sucks!

I think the theory goes that the GA heyday of the 60's and 70's was driven largely by retiring service members who had been exposed to military aviation in one way or another before transitioning to the private sector.  Learning to fly today is expensive, and if you don't already have aviation in your blood, investing lots of money and time learning to fly isn't an obvious choice for a hobby.

This is where I think that organizations like the EAA Young Eagles can play a hugely important role: exposing kids to aviation at a formative age, so they're already motivated to learn to fly before they start collecting disposable income.

[DonMuncy]

17 minutes ago, Brian E. said:

I truly don't understand why in today's economy why demand is so low--where has the adventure gone? Experimental?  LSA?  Regardless--driving sucks!

I blame the modern technology. When we were young, when a plane flew over, we ran outside to see. It seemed magical, and we longed to be able to "do that".

Now, any kid can buy a video game that seems much more thrilling than the real thing. For $20 and no effort or risk.