2 weeks Ago By Simon Sharwood
Beleaguered aerospace giant Boeing has sold some of its “Digital Aviation Solutions” portfolio to private equity outfit Thoma Bravo. The deal, announced on Tuesday, will see Boeing offload aviation services outfit Jeppesen, flight planning software provider ForeFlight, electronic flight bag company OzRunways, and maintenance management outfit AerData. The transaction will see $10.
55 billion of cash reach Boeing’s coffers. Boeing has promised its defense and commercial customers it will “retain core digital capabilities that harness both aircraft and fleet-specific data to provide ..
. fleet maintenance, diagnostics and repair services.” CEO Kelly Ortberg said the deal “ is an important component of our strategy to focus on core businesses, supplement the balance sheet and prioritize the investment grade credit rating.
” Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Scott Crabill said Boeing’s Digital Aviation Solutions biz “has been through an impressive growth transformation in recent years and has strong momentum.” “Thoma Bravo has a long track record of backing leading technology companies in partnership with existing management. We look forward to supporting the company's standalone growth objectives through strategic investments, operational best practices and a shared commitment to innovation and long-term value creation,” he added.
When private equity firms acquire tech companies they often cut costs, hike prices, and try to maximize profit. That can make life unpleasant for users who often see post-acquisition product consolidation and price rises . Partners can be asked to required to buy and sell more software .
Private equiteers use such tactics because they want to improve their acquisitions’ balance sheets and then sell them for a profit. Customers can therefore endure several turbulent years as their suppliers change strategy. Boeing has been on a bumpy ride for years due to problems with its own software which caused hundreds of deaths in two crashes of its 737 Max passenger plane.
The company has also struggled to get its newest plane – the 777X – into production, endured an incident in which another 737’s door fell off in flight , and suffered the embarrassment of its Starliner space capsule being deemed unsafe for re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere and stranding astronauts on the international Space Station for months. The aerospace giant posted a $11.8 billion loss last year – its worst-ever result – and in recent days has been faced with a new challenge as China instructed its airlines to stop accepting new planes as part of its retaliation against the USA’s new tariffs regime .
News of the software sale came a day before Boeing announces its results for the first quarter of 2025. ®.
