In what it is calling “the great M&A unwind,” Jefferies Equities Research has outlined amounts its analysts believe Boeing could generate with the sale of some prime Boeing Global Services assets. These include Boeing’s digital services companies Jeppesen and ForeFlight as well as Boeing Distribution, which is made up of the former Aviall and KLX Aerospace Solutions.
Although Jefferies estimates that Jeppesen and ForeFlight generate the highest margin (30%) of all the Boeing Global Services entities, its analysts believe Boeing may be planning to sell the digital services companies and that Jeppesen is worth $7 billion and ForeFlight $1 billion. According to Jefferies, Boeing bought Jeppesen for $1.5 billion in 2000 and ForeFlight for $275 million in 2019, and these account for 10% of Boeing Global Services sales.
“Since the McDonnell Douglas merger, Boeing has acquired $15 billion ($23 billion CPI-adjusted) of assets,” according to Jefferies, “but the CEO's portfolio review could make non-core decisions soon, focused on BA's future rather than fundraising after $24 billion capital raise.”
Jefferies sees up to $12 billion in a potential asset sale that in addition to Jeppesen and ForeFlight could include its ULA space business, Argon ST [command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance], Insitu [uncrewed air systems], and an uncrewed undersea vehicle business. However, it believes KLX and Aviall will not be sold.