Ponterra Advises Cross- border Travel/Aviation Industry Technology Merger

MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ponterra Business Advisors ("Ponterra"), a specialty middle-market technology and services-focused investment bank, advised on the January sale of FlightView Inc. of Newton, Mass., to OAG, a subsidiary of AXIO Data Group Limited of the UK. Ponterra acted as investment banking advisor to FlightView.

FlightView offers real-time, accurate, reliable flight information to travel businesses and consumers. FlightView works with airports, airlines and other travel companies to improve customer service, operational efficiency and brand loyalty by gathering and delivering actionable flight information through APIs and in visually appealing media.

Mike Benjamin, CEO of FlightView said, "We greatly appreciate the advice, support and professionalism of the Ponterra team throughout the transaction.  The shareholders and management are very pleased with the outcome and with OAG as the new home for our company."

Henry Elkington, CEO of AXIO said, "Real-time flight status information is increasingly important to a wide range of our customers. The addition of FlightView, with its highly complementary customer base, will give OAG clear leadership in the growing global flight status and schedules data markets."

Ponterra Business Advisors is a specialist global mergers and acquisitions advisor to middle market companies in the travel (including aviation), hospitality, retail and foodservice industries. More than 70 percent of the Ponterra team's deals have involved at least one international M&A partner.  

John Rovani, Managing Partner of Ponterra said, "We are always happy to help create win-win outcomes for both seller and buyer.  This is clearly one of those cross-border transactions where both OAG and FlightView will benefit in many ways. We greatly enjoyed working with Mike Benjamin, the FlightView shareholders and management team on this deal."

About Ponterra Business Advisors

Ponterra Business Advisors is an independent, strategic business and mergers & acquisitions advisory firm with a unique focus on the global travel, hospitality, retail and foodservice technology and services sectors.  The firm's focus is on middle-market entrepreneurs, business owners, family offices and private equity groups.  It offers globally-based businesses mentoring, strategic advice; and exit planning and preparation, as well as mergers and acquisitions advisory solutions.  Ponterra Business Advisors is a rebranding of a very successful 11-year old specialty investment banking practice, and is part of the largest broker-dealer network for independent registered representatives in North America. More than 70% of the firm's transactions have involved cross-border deals.  Some members of Ponterra are registered representatives of and securities are offered though StillPoint Capital, LLC., member, Financial Industry Regulatory Agency and Securities Investor Protection Corporation. 

About FLIGHTVIEW

FlightView is the leading provider of accurate, real-time flight information solutions for the aviation and travel industries. FlightView was started in 2008 when CEO Mike Benjamin brought a new management and technology team to RLM Software, the first recipient of the ASDI (FAA radar) data feed and long-time consultant to the FAA. With a new focus on delivering actionable flight information across the full range of media platforms, FlightView was born. Since then, FlightView's customer list has grown to include over 130 airports, several major and mid-sized airlines and other travel related customers who employ FlightView information in digital displays, Web and mobile sites, native apps and other uses.  FlightView mobile products were launched starting in 2009 and our native apps for the iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Palm platforms have logged over 3.3M downloads. FlightView is located in Boston, Massachusetts. To learn more, please visit FlightView.com and follow us on Twitter: @FlightView.

About AXIO

The AXIO Data Group Ltd. (AXIO) operates a portfolio of market-leading information business services, and is owned by funds managed by Electra Partners LLP. Electra Partners is an independent private equity fund manager with more than 30 years' experience. As of September 30, 2014, the firm had funds valued at £1.6 billion under its management. For more information see www.axiogroup.net and www.electrapartners.com.

SOURCE Ponterra Business Advisors