Key Takeaways
• Boeing sells Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways to Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion in cash.
• The deal aims to complete by year-end 2025, pending regulatory approval and standard closing conditions.
• About 3,900 employees are affected, with staff transitions between Boeing and Thoma Bravo anticipated but not fully detailed yet.
Boeing has taken a big step to reshape its business by agreeing to sell major parts of its Digital Aviation Solutions unit to Thoma Bravo, a large private equity firm. This $10.55 billion deal, paid completely in cash, was announced on April 22, 2025. Both companies expect the sale to be completed before the end of the year, but it still needs approval from government regulators and some other typical requirements. This deal is not only important for the companies and their workers. It could also change how digital aviation services are provided across the world.
What Is Included in the Deal?
Boeing is selling four well-known digital platforms that help flight operations and maintenance:
- Jeppesen: This company has been a trusted name in flight charts and navigation since 1934. Boeing bought Jeppesen in 2000. Pilots and airlines around the globe rely on its services to plan safe and efficient flights.
- ForeFlight: Focused on mobile apps, ForeFlight gives pilots a simple way to plan routes using their phones or tablets. Boeing acquired ForeFlight in 2019, and it is widely used by private pilots and flight departments for planning and tracking fuel, weather, and other flight details.
- AerData: Based in Amsterdam, this company helps airlines and lessors manage aircraft maintenance records, leasing, and asset care. Their software makes it easier for companies to keep their planes in top shape.
- OzRunways: Serving mainly the Australasian area, OzRunways is a well-liked mobile planning and navigation tool for pilots in Australia and surrounding areas.
Combined, these platforms reach thousands of customers globally, offering digital tools for planning flights, optimizing operations, tracking maintenance, and finding safe navigation routes.
Boeing’s Strategic Thinking Behind the Sale
Selling these assets is part of Boeing’s larger plan to focus on its main strengths—making commercial airplanes and building defense products. Over the last year, Boeing faced financial pressures and posted big losses. With this sale, Boeing gets a major boost to its cash reserves at a time when stronger finances are needed to stay healthy.
President & CEO Kelly Ortberg said, “This transaction is an important component of our strategy to focus on core businesses, supplement the balance sheet and prioritize the investment grade credit rating.” In other words, Boeing wants to make sure it keeps a strong reputation with banks and investors—even as it deals with supply chain problems and government inspections.
By selling Digital Aviation Solutions, Boeing reduces its focus to the key areas that matter most for its future: making airplanes, keeping them working, and providing support after sales. But Boeing is not leaving digital work entirely. It will hold onto the part of its digital business that directly helps with fleet maintenance, diagnostics, and aircraft repairs, because these services are tightly linked to airplane safety and performance.
Impacts for Employees
About 3,900 workers are connected to Boeing’s Digital Aviation Solutions. When a sale like this takes place, workers naturally have questions about their jobs, their roles, and any changes to their daily work. The details about how many people will stay with Boeing and how many will become part of Thoma Bravo’s new independent company are not fully known yet. However, both Boeing and Thoma Bravo have stated that they are working closely to ensure workers experience as little disruption as possible. The goal is to make the move smooth for the staff and to maintain quality service for all current customers.
What Does Thoma Bravo Plan Next?
Thoma Bravo, based in the United States 🇺🇸, is well known for investing in technology companies across different industries and helping them grow on their own. With these digital aviation assets, Thoma Bravo sees a future in adding more features, investing in new tools, and reaching even more customers. The company has a reputation for growing businesses after buying them, whether through added investment, improved management, or new partnerships.
Thoma Bravo leaders Holden Spaht and Scott Crabill said, “We are excited to build on [Jeppesen’s] track record…Thoma Bravo has a long track record of backing leading technology companies… We look forward to supporting [the unit’s] standalone growth objectives through strategic investments.” This suggests the digital aviation group will function as its own company, not merely as a small piece of a larger, unrelated business.
Why Now? The Financial Context
Boeing’s big decision comes after a tough year. Deliveries were slowed down by supply chain issues—situations where it was hard to get parts or raw materials on time. At the same time, government agencies looked even closer at Boeing’s processes and safety record, which meant more costs for improvements and stricter rules to follow.
By getting $10.55 billion from Thoma Bravo in this deal, Boeing can pay off debts, keep money ready for future investment, and steady its balance sheet. The company sees this sale as a way to guarantee that it keeps a top-level credit rating. This is very important because a strong rating helps Boeing borrow money at fair rates and stay competitive in a market where building airplanes requires a lot of upfront spending.
Details on the Companies’ Advisors
Big deals like this involve help from top financial and legal experts:
– Citi was the exclusive financial advisor to Boeing and gave advice on how to structure the agreement.
– Mayer Brown LLP provided outside legal counsel to Boeing.
– On Thoma Bravo’s side, law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisers.
With these partners, the companies aimed to ensure the transaction was fair and met all rules and legal standards.
What This Means for the Aviation and Digital Marketplace
This sale is one of the biggest recent deals involving aviation software. For Boeing, it means narrowing its focus, making its finances stronger, and being able to put more money and attention into its traditional businesses of building and maintaining airplanes. For Thoma Bravo, it’s a chance to own proven digital platforms that serve airlines, pilots, and lessors all around the world.
The move could also shape the whole market for digital aviation services. As Thoma Bravo directs these businesses, they are likely to invest in new software, better user experiences, and possibly new global markets. Customers—like airlines, pilots, maintenance firms, and company flight departments—could see improvements, new features, or new services in the platforms they rely on.
How Could This Affect Stakeholders and Aviation Immigration?
The digital tools sold by Boeing to Thoma Bravo help airlines and pilots plan safe, efficient routes and track their planes’ maintenance. For people moving between countries for work in aviation—including pilots, mechanics, and airline operations staff—these platforms can influence the efficiency of their jobs. Reliable digital flight and maintenance systems mean airlines can keep up with flight schedules, reduce downtime, and meet the strict rules set by international regulators.
For workers moving across borders to support flight operations, having modern, stable software tools makes adapting to new workplaces easier. Whether someone is an engineer moving to help an airline in Canada 🇨🇦, or a pilot joining an airline in Australia 🇦🇺, familiar and reliable digital tools can smooth the transition. Similarly, aviation companies hiring staff from outside the United States 🇺🇸 or Europe 🇪🇺 may prefer candidates with experience using Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, or OzRunways.
Regulatory Steps Ahead
For the transaction to close, Boeing and Thoma Bravo need approval from various government agencies. This process checks that the sale won’t hurt competition or harm customers. Reviews like these can take months, especially for cross-border deals involving key infrastructure. Both companies say they expect the process to wrap up by the end of this year. For more on how these regulatory reviews work, you can check the official U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division information page.
What Will Happen to Digital Aviation Solutions?
Once the sale is approved, Digital Aviation Solutions will become an independent company, but still under Thoma Bravo’s ownership. This independence can bring several benefits:
- Faster decisions on new products or features.
- A focus on customer needs rather than a parent company’s larger business concerns.
- New investment in technology and staffing.
As digital aviation continues to grow, with more airlines and pilots using real-time data and mobile technology, these assets will likely stay at the forefront of industry changes.
A Wider Trend in the Aviation and Technology Sector
Big moves like this show a trend where large manufacturers focus on their main business and sell off side parts to dedicated tech investors. By letting Thoma Bravo grow Digital Aviation Solutions, Boeing can dedicate its resources to developing the next generation of airplanes and safety systems.
At the same time, Thoma Bravo’s experience with growing similar technology-driven businesses could mean faster upgrades and more innovations for customers of Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways.
Key Takeaways and What to Watch For
- Boeing is selling four major digital aviation platforms (Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, OzRunways) to Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion.
- The deal will help Boeing focus on airplane manufacturing, strengthen its finances, and keep top credit ratings.
- Thoma Bravo plans to invest in these platforms, aiming for growth and more independent decision-making.
- For employees, the main goal is a smooth transition—some will join Thoma Bravo’s company, while others will stay at Boeing.
- If the deal is approved, Digital Aviation Solutions will run independently, likely driving upgrades and new services for pilots, airlines, and maintenance crews.
- For global aviation workers—including those who move internationally—stable digital tools make jobs easier and help keep up with regulations in different countries.
- The deal still needs approval from regulators to be finalized.
The coming months will show how well the sale goes and what changes customers might see in the digital aviation tools they trust. As reported by VisaVerge.com, these steps can impact many areas of the aviation world—from the business side, to worker mobility, to how airlines operate daily.
For more on corporate announcements and official details regarding the deal, readers can visit Boeing’s press release center for the latest updates.
In summary, this Boeing–Thoma Bravo deal is not just about money changing hands, but about two companies focusing on what they do best. Boeing is homing in on airplanes and support, while Thoma Bravo bets on digital growth and innovation. The full effect will become clearer by the end of the year, but the impact on aviation technology and the people who rely on it will certainly be felt around the world.
Learn Today
Private Equity → A form of investment fund that acquires companies or assets, often restructuring them for profit and growth.
SaaS (Software as a Service) → A cloud-based delivery model where users access applications online, rather than installing software locally on devices.
Regulatory Approval → Permission from government authorities needed to complete large transactions, ensuring fair business practices and competition.
Credit Rating → An assessment of a company’s financial stability, affecting its ability to borrow money at favorable terms.
Supply Chain → The network of suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors involved in producing and delivering a company’s products.
This Article in a Nutshell
Boeing is selling key digital aviation platforms, including Jeppesen and ForeFlight, to Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion. This strategic shift focuses Boeing on airplane manufacturing, while Thoma Bravo will grow the digital services business. Regulatory approval is pending. About 3,900 employees will be impacted by the transaction and transition.
— By VisaVerge.com
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