Madison Dearborn-backed defense contractor AEVEX files for US IPO.

Private equity-backed AEVEX filed ⁠for ⁠an initial public offering ⁠in the United States on Monday, as it ​looks to tap into investor enthusiasm for the defense sector.

The U.S. IPO ‌market remains accessible despite ‌the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with some issuers ⁠in ⁠recent weeks braving market volatility to push ahead with their ​listings.

The defense technology prime contractor reported a net loss of $16.8 million on revenue of $432.9 million in 2025, compared with a net loss of $78.6 ​million on revenue of $392.2 million a year earlier.

AEVEX, backed by ⁠buyout firm ⁠Madison Dearborn Partners, and ⁠some ​of its existing shareholders plan to sell shares in the offering.

The ​Solana Beach, California-based company ⁠provides airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance offerings to its customers.

AEVEX has delivered 6,200 autonomous systems and has another 3,900 committed through the end of 2026. Its funded backlog stood at $503 million ⁠as of December 31.

The bulk of its revenue comes from sales ⁠to the U.S. government and its agencies.

Global defense spending is accelerating as countries across the world ramp up modernization initiatives and invest in next-generation advanced systems to counter adversaries.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year called for a $1.5 trillion military budget in 2027, significantly higher than the $901 billion approved by Congress for 2026.

Madison Dearborn and CoVant Management ⁠bought AEVEX from buyout firm Trive Capital in 2020.

AEVEX will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AVEX.” Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities and Jefferies are the lead ​underwriters for the offering.

Global ⁠stocks rebounded from a four-month low ⁠on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would order the ​military to postpone any strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, easing fears over the repercussions of ‌a deeper oil shock.

Trump also said ‌the U.S. was in talks with Tehran about ending the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, however parliamentary Speaker ⁠Mohammad Baqer ⁠Qalibaf, mooted to be the leader representing Iran in contacts with the ​U.S., posted on social media that no talks had been held with the U.S.

Oil prices tumbled by more than 8%, the dollar fell against other major currencies and government borrowing costs eased.

“It (the comments) buys time. We are in ​a very intense conflict... maybe they need some more time to prepare whatever they’re staging to ⁠do. ⁠I don’t see this conflict ⁠going back in ​the bottle overnight,” said David Bianco, Americas chief investment officer at DWS.

U.S. ​crude was last down 8.78% to $89.61 a ⁠barrel and Brent fell to $101.42 per barrel, down 9.64% on the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 655.41 points, or 1.44%, to 46,232.88, the S&P 500 rose 77.50 points, or 1.19%, to 6,583.98 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 273.61 points, or 1.26%, to 21,921.22. 

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe  rose 4.77 points, or 0.49%, to 986.08. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.61%.