ARGYLE, Texas & FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AFV Partners LLC (“AFV Partners”) has acquired one hundred percent of U.K.-based RocketRoute Limited (“RocketRoute”), a leading global aviation services company that provides flight-planning, fuel, concierge and marketplace services through a single integrated SaaS platform that serves the commercial, business, air rescue and military aviation markets, from Alyssum Holdings Limited (“Alyssum Holdings”). Terms of the transaction, which closed on March 11, 2020, were not disclosed.
RocketRoute was co-founded in 2010 by Uwe Nitsche and Justin Coelho with the mission to make flight planning easy and straight forward for all. Using a SaaS platform and an industry leading 24x7 flight support service, RocketRoute has the ability to dynamically route flights in real-time using current air traffic conditions, which is a core competency required to operate efficiently in European air space. Nitsche and Coelho will continue in their leadership roles under AFV Partners’ ownership.
Tony Aquila is Founder, Chairman and CEO of AFV Partners, which was formed in 2019 as a long-term permanent capital investor. In January 2020, Aquila’s AFV Partners acquired Aircraft Performance Group (“APG”), a leading global provider of proprietary aircraft performance, weight and balance, and flight planning software solutions.
On the acquisition of RocketRoute, Aquila said, “We had an immediate connection with Uwe and Justin and hold a high regard for what they have built. As part of our global mobility platform, adding a leader in flight planning is a key cornerstone and expands our product capabilities globally and across all end markets. We will leverage APG and RocketRoute’s core offerings to create a seamlessly-integrated weight and balance, runway analysis, flight-planning and services platform for the global aviation market. Bringing APG and RocketRoute together demonstrates our commitment to continuous innovation and furthers both companies’ visions by creating a global market leader.”
”We are very excited to work with Tony and the AFV Partners team and to benefit from their collective technical expertise, synergies and geographical reach as we strive to become a key contributor to their global mobility platform,” said RocketRoute’s CEO Nitsche.
RocketRoute Chief Commercial Officer, Coelho added, “I have been very impressed by the speed and accuracy of the AFV Partners team in getting this deal done and their expertise and vision for the space. Relative to the other parties we interacted with during our sale process, AFV Partners was the most logical and complimentary fit for RocketRoute. We have now been liberated to execute on our long-term vision.”
The addition of RocketRoute to the AFV Partners portfolio brings access to many new flight planning capabilities that will enhance APG’s newest app, iPreFlight Genesis®, with particular focus on European routing and filing. “The speed and precision in which the AFV Partners team has moved to accelerate and execute on the APG vision since acquiring the company just a few months ago is without precedent,” said Mike Caflisch, APG’s CEO. “Our customer-product roadmap will be greatly accelerated by working directly with the RocketRoute team who share our commitment to serving the global market with apps and services that enhance safety, security, and efficiency. Together with AFV Partners, we look forward to bringing deeper integration of our industry leading aircraft performance services to RocketRoute in the markets they serve, bringing together the best of both teams to positively impact our global customers.”
About AFV Partners
Founded by serial technology entrepreneur and investor Tony Aquila, and anchored by some of the world’s largest and most experienced investors, AFV Partners is an affirmative low-leverage capital vehicle that invests in long-term mission critical software and data businesses. AFV Partners is headquartered in Argyle, Texas with offices in Jackson Hole and Zurich. http://www.afvpartners.com
About RocketRoute
A leading software platform simplifying route planning and flight plan submissions to aviation authorities around the world, RocketRoute was founded in 2010 by Uwe Nitsche and Justin Coelho. RocketRoute solutions span the private, business and commercial aviation end markets and are the backbone to many air rescue operations in Europe. www.rocketroute.com
About Aircraft Performance Group
APG is a leading global provider of proprietary flight operations software solutions into the aftermarket of the aerospace industry. APG operates a software as a service business model focused on the corporate and business aviation segment of the aerospace industry. APG has recently integrated its market leading aircraft performance software solutions, including runway analysis and weight and balance services, with flight planning services into a new software offering and mobile app, iPreFlight Genesis. http://www.flyapg.com/
About Alyssum Holdings
Alyssum Holdings was formed in England in 2018 by Clive Jackson as a holding company for the RocketRoute and FlyVictor assets. In March 2020 RocketRoute was sold to AFV Partners and Clive Jackson completed a successful MBO of FlyVictor.
