Zach Detra represents clients in complex commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, and commercial contracts. While he has transactional experience in a broad range of industries all over the world, Mr. Detra’s practice focuses on transactions involving private equity; the purchase, sale, lease, operation, and maintenance of aircraft and helicopters; manufacturing and product distribution; equipment purchases, leasing, and financings; technology and intellectual property; start-up and early stage businesses; and international considerations.
Mr. Detra is a 2006 graduate of McGill University’s Institute of Air and Space Law and a 2005 graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law where he served as editor-in-chief of the Denver Journal of International Law and Policy. Mr. Detra has an undergraduate degree in Political Economy and English. He is currently a member of the American, Canadian American, Colorado, and Denver bar associations. Mr. Detra serves on the Board of Trustees of the Colorado Symphony and the Aviation Coalition Committee for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Detra is a member of the 2018 class of Leadership Denver, a foundation leadership program that strives to educate and inspire people who want to make a difference as community leaders. He was also included as a 40 Under 40 award winner by the Denver Business Journal in 2018.
Mr. Detra has experience representing clients in a wide range of transactions in various industries, some representative examples of which follow:
Manufacturing & Industrials
- Brannan Sand & Gravel Co., in its acquisition of Ready Mixed Concrete Company from Boral Limied (ASX:BLD).
- The seller of Split-Rail Fence Company to U.S. Fence Solutions, a portfolio company of Building Industry Partners.
- The seller of Vail Honeywagon Ltd., a waste and recycling services company in Vail, Colorado, to Mountain Waste & Recycling.
- The acquirer of Capco, Inc., a defense department supplier of machine gun mounting systems, small arms and ordinance components, electronic and mechanical assemblies, electro-explosive devices and other hardware and energetic items.
- Mikron Corporation Denver, a leading manufacturer of automated assembly solutions, in various equipment manufacturing agreements.
- Prairie Disposal Inc., an industry-leading waste management services company, in its sale to R360 Environmental Solutions.
- The acquirer of Laney Directional Drilling, a specialty drilling company, which services the pipeline industry.
- Westmoreland Coal Company (NASDAQ: WLB) in its acquisition of the 13,400-acre Kemmerer mine located in Kemmerer, Wyoming from Chevron Mining, Inc.
- The Genesee Group, Inc., a manufacturing company specializing in light to medium gauge precision metal components in prototypes, fabrications, short run, medium volume, or mass production quantities, in its acquisition of assets of Best - Foam Fabricators, Inc., including the novation of several government contracts.
- Intertech Plastics, a leading injection molding business with mechanical, assembly, and fulfillment capabilities, in various business acquisitions and dispositions involving manufacturing assets.
- ESSMetron, a leading designer and manufacturer of low and medium voltage power distribution products, integrated power distribution centers, custom control products, and modular control buildings, in the sale of its fire pump controls division in the U.S. and U.K. to Hubbell Incorporated.
- J2 Partners, a Boulder-based private equity firm, in its stock purchase of Instrument Sales & Service, Inc., a diversified manufacturing, re-manufacturing, and distribution company offering turnkey supply chain solutions for the automotive and capital equipment industries, and, more recently, in its acquisition and financing of Craig Energy Holdings LLC (f/k/a Craig’s Roustabout Service, Inc.), a company specializing in oil and gas field construction, blasting, drilling, trucking, roustabout, disposal, and hydro-excavation services.
Aviation
- Air Methods Corporation (previously, NASDAQ: AIRM), a leading air medical transport company, in the following acquisitions:
- Sundance Helicopters, Inc., a helicopter tour operator with 20 aircraft based in Las Vegas, Nevada, which focuses primarily on Grand Canyon helicopter tours, but also helicopter services to support firefighting, natural resource agency operations, vertical lifts, aerial photography/motion pictures, news gathering, and aerial surveying.
- American Jets, Inc., a fixed-wing air ambulance provider based in Fort Peirce, Florida, which operates a fleet of Learjet aircraft and provides worldwide air ambulance transport services.
- Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, Inc., a helicopter tour operator with 24 aircraft based in Hawaii, which is one of the world’s largest aerial tour operators and is the premier helicopter tour company in the state of Hawaii, offering a diverse portfolio of 12 scheduled tours on five of Hawaii’s six tourist islands.
- Mindoro Investments Limited (Cyprus) in its sale to ASL Aviation Group Limited (Ireland) of the FARNAIR Group of companies, which, based in Switzerland, consists of four airlines - FARNAIR Switzerland and FARNAIR Hungary, Quikjet India, and K-Mile (a joint venture in Southeast Asia), and provides a wide range of air cargo and aviation services across the world.
- FARNAIR Switzerland and FARNAIR Hungary in their acquisition and lease of Boeing 737-400 aircraft, including the conversions of those aircraft into freighter configurations, and then export to Hungary where they entered commercial service.
- U.A.E.-based cargo airline in acquisition of B1900 freighters and negotiation of a fleet maintenance program agreement with the European affiliate of a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer.
- The NORDAM Group, Inc., a leading aircraft repair and component manufacturing company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma with operations in Singapore and the United Kingdom, in a wide range of repair agreements with airlines around the world, and long term, life-of-program, supply agreements with aircraft and engine manufacturers.
- Various purchasers, borrowers, and taxpayers in all aspects of the purchase, sale, lease, financing, and 1031 exchange of aircraft covered by the Cape Town Convention and requiring International Registry filings, including developing solutions to complex, cross-border problems involving letters of credit, conversion of financing leases to operating leases, airworthiness directives, insurance requirements, and aircraft registration and de-registration in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.
- Lead lender in loans to leveraged company engaged in the business of leasing wide body aircraft around the world, including strategic planning to protect lender from insolvency and bankruptcy risks.
Technology & Professional Services
- eCommerce Systems, Inc. in its sale to CGI Group, Inc. (NYSE: GIB).
- EKS&H, the region’s largest CPA firm, in its acquisition of Infolink Consulting.
- NDP LLC, an engineering services, systems integration and technology development outsourcing services company, in its sale to Braxton Holdings, LLC.
- Texas E.R. Medical Billing, Inc. (TERM), a Texas corporation, in its sale of assets to Medical Consultants, Inc., an Oklahoma corporation. TERM provides revenue cycle management services for hospital based emergency physicians, as well as coding, billing, and reimbursement services.
- Channel Intelligence, Inc., a shopping engine optimization company, in its acquisition of ClickEquations, Inc., a leading-edge paid search platform serving large advertisers and search agencies.
- Various early stage and startup technology companies in their formation, structuring, and initial and follow-on capital raises.
Retail & Consumer Products
- The seller of Keg Credit to Keg Logistics (a portfolio company of Seaport Capital), in a sale combining two of the leading keg providers in the rapidly growing U.S. craft brewing industry.
- The seller of one of the largest single-location retail liquor stores in the U.S. to a Denver-based private equity firm.
- The seller of a fine wine retail liquor store in downtown Denver, Colorado to a strategic buyer.
- Kay Jan, Inc., an operator of John Deere dealerships in Eastern Colorado, in its merger with and into 21st Century Equipment.
- Steve Spangler Inc. in its sale of the Steve Spangler Science product line to Really Good Stuff.
- Maria Empanada in a financing transaction with Colorado Impact Fund.
Education
McGill University, LL.M., 2006
University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, 2005
Regis University, B.S., B.A., 2002
