BE Avionics Announces Third Acquisition of Year : * Buyout: Santa Ana maker of aircraft cabin products will pay $14 million in debt-financed deal for British company.

BE Avionics Inc. continued its acquisition spree Thursday by announcing it would pay $14 million to acquire a British maker of reclining seats for commercial airliners.

In a debt-financed deal, BE Avionics said it will acquire Flight Equipment and Engineering Ltd. as part of its strategy to become a broad supplier in the aircraft cabin equipment industry. The Santa Ana-based company’s other products include airliner galleys, passenger entertainment systems and seat controls.

The acquisition is the third for BE Avionics since Jan. 16, when the company announced it would pay $74 million for PTC Aerospace Inc. in Bantam, Conn., and Aircraft Products Co. in Delray Beach, Fla., both makers of airliner galleys.

“We’re positioning ourselves to be the No. 1 supplier of internal cabin equipment for the airlines with the broadest product line,” said Amin Khoury, chairman. “Airlines are being more demanding and technology is advancing rapidly in our industry so we have to move quickly.”

Khoury estimates that BE Avionics now has as much as 11% of the $1.5-billion market for aircraft cabin products.

Along with his brother, Robert, another venture capitalist, Khoury founded BE Avionics in July, 1987. He led an investor group that acquired Bach Engineering Inc. in Orlando, Fla., in 1987 and later bought the avionics unit in Santa Ana of EECO Inc. in 1989.

Perhaps the most promising products are BE Avionics’ video screens, which are installed in the back of passenger seats for individual movie viewing, Khoury said. The company began shipping its first screens to Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong in February.

To finance the latest acquisition, the company has obtained a $10-million increase in credit line with Chase Manhattan Bank and has used a portion of its available reserve.

Khoury said he isn’t worried about the added debt because of his company’s strong cash flow, but he added that this will be BE Avionics’ last acquisition for a while.

The acquisition on Thursday adds 375 employees to the company, for a total of 1,400, including about 120 in Santa Ana. Khoury said the company now boasts 140 engineers, perhaps the largest in the industry.

Shares of BE Avionics closed at $14 Thursday, unchanged in over-the-counter trading.