Helicopter intelligence firm IBA Group acquired by bd-capital
IBA Group has been acquired by bd-capital for an undisclosed sum. (Photocredit: Shutterstock).
Rotary and fixed-wing aviation intelligence and advisory firm IBA Group has been acquired by private equity firm bd-capital for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in the UK, IBA provides aviation data, intelligence and advisory services. Clients for its proprietary and mission-critical data products, advisory services and asset management solutions include helicopter businesses, lessors, maintenance and research organisations, financial institutions, governments and other aviation stakeholders worldwide.
IBA’s business includes two main divisions: aviation data and analytics and technical advisory services. Its data and independent intelligence products are designed to aid decision making in the areas of aircraft valuations, fleet planning, lease management, financing decisions and regulatory compliance.
Under former owners TPA Capital, the business launched its Digital Solutions division – IBA Insight – designed to enable the company to monetise its proprietary dataset collected over decades of advisory work in the aviation industry.
The new owner said it will bring significant institutional capability to scale up IBA’s business information services. The new chairman of the business will be Graham Elton, who is a member of both bd-capital’s Investment Advisory Committee and its Operators Club.
“The business has truly proprietary information and is helping customers address critical business decisions. That is a winning formula and one that we can build on both organically and through M&A,” said Elton.
Gerry Gualtieri, CEO of IBA Group, said: “My team and I are excited about partnering with bd-capital to take the business on the next stage of the journey. We believe IBA has huge potential and are sure that the scale and experience that the team at bd-capital possess will help to achieve our ambitious plans for the business.”
Andrey Russinov, partner at bd-capital said IBA Group occupies a differentiated position in the aviation data market. “Its proprietary data assets, combined with the technical expertise of its team, create a compelling and defensible platform with significant growth potential. Aviation financing is a sector undergoing rapid change, and the demand for high-quality, independent data and intelligence has never been stronger.”
The new owner conducted the deal in partnership with advisory teams from KPMG (Financial), Stephenson Harwood (Legal), PwC (Financial and Tax DD), Palladium (Digital and AI) and Altman Solon (Commercial).
IBA Group and TPA Capital were advised by Raymond James (Financial), Squire Patton Boggs (Legal), Simon Kucher (Commercial), 8Advisory (Financial and Tax DD) and Crosslake (Technology DD).
Meanwhile, bd-capital has €800m of assets under management and operates from three hubs in London, Madrid and Amsterdam.
