Boeing to sell parts of digital aviation solutions portfolio for $10.55 billion

Storm clouds gather over Boeing’s St. Louis headquarters. (Michael Marrow/Breaking Defense)

WASHINGTON — Beleaguered aerospace giant Boeing announced today that it plans to sell off elements of its digital aviation solutions business to Thoma Bravo, a software-focused private equity firm, in a deal valued at $10.55 billion. 

The all-cash transaction would hand over Boeing’s digital flight planning tools used by commercial and defense customers, including Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData and OzRunways. As part of the agreement, “Boeing will retain core digital capabilities that harness both aircraft and fleet-specific data to provide commercial and defense customers with fleet maintenance, diagnostics and repair services,” a press release announcing the deal says. 

Boeing has been under pressure since the mid-air blowout involving one of the company’s best-selling Max commercial jetliners last year, kicking off a crisis that culminated in the succession of CEO Kelly Ortberg. Since taking the reins of the planemaker in August, Ortberg has spearheaded a strategy to sell off elements of Boeing’s business that are not deemed “core” to the company in a bid to refocus operations and raise much-needed cash. 

“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,” Ortberg said of the Thoma Bravo deal, which is expected to close by the end of 2025 if regulators approve. 

Although Boeing’s defense unit has faced steep losses in recent years, owing in large part to fixed-price deals with the Pentagon, Ortberg has deemed the company’s Defense, Space & Security division as an essential part of the firm’s business. Still, that hasn’t precluded the company from reportedly seeking to divest certain defense assets such as the drone firm Insitu. 

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The Thoma Bravo deal comes as the company faces new headwinds. Although the firm recently notched a crucial win by being selected to build a next-generation fighter for the US Air Force, a global trade war sparked by the Trump administration now poses a serious threat to Boeing, America’s largest exporter. China, for example, has reportedly retaliated to Trump-imposed tariffs by ordering domestic airlines to refuse deliveries of Boeing jets. 

Boeing will report its first quarter earnings April 23.