The British multinational services company which provides global aviation support and aftermarket services to the business and general aviation (or B&GA) markets in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, and internationally – just recently acquired EPIC Fuels for US $88.1 million.
EPIC provides fuel and fuel related services at 205 privately owned independent FBO locations, and 185 of these locations are branded EPIC, and 20 are branded UVAir.
With BBA Aviation’s very own Signature Flight Support where they provide premium, full service flight support to owners and operators of private and business aircraft worldwide, the acquisition of EPIC Fuels will significantly extend the Signature’s network relevance (of over 400 FBO locations), and the range of services it can offer.
The addition of 205 FBO locations is complementary, to say the very least, as it establishes a virtual, non-owner, network to operate alongside the market-leading owned FBO network.
EPIC has been BBA Aviation’s existing Signature fuel card partner, and the latest acquisition allows Signature to have the full “end-to-end management of the existing SFS EPIC fuel card program, associated transaction processing, and data capture,” as effective platforms to offer enhanced services across the entire network.
A leap forward
Mark Johnstone, BBA Aviation Group Chief Executive expressed his delight, saying, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement to acquire EPIC.. This acquisition fully supports the strategic development of Signature through increasing our network relevance, extending the range of fuel and non-fuel services we offer our customers across our unique FBO network and continuing to establish a competitive cost structure through investment in technology and economies of scale.”
EPIC is expected to contribute a significant revenue of around $400 million, in the first full year of ownership, and also expected to achieve BBA’s ROIC target threshold of 12% by year three. The recent acquisition is subject to certain governmental and regulatory approvals, and is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2018.
EPIC pre-planned to give a special gift to mark the momentous acquisition
The partnership of BBA Aviation and EPIC Fuels has long been a trusting, and mutually beneficial partnership. It is a preconceived notion that companies acquire other companies to expand their portfolio, and eliminate a competitor’s brand – but in this case, it’s a huge leap forward, all set to provide enhanced services for a large market.
The acquisition solidified BBA Aviation’s strong growth, and it wasn’t left unrecognized. EPIC had 10 custom made Pitt Special Aircrafts made by ModelWorks Direct, especially for the BBA Aviation Executives.
The custom made Pitt Special aircrafts are high quality models which took well over 480 hours of build time fabrication. The clear canopy even has an interior that was fabricated from scratch, and all were specifically made from composite materials consisting of wood, metals, resins, plastics and aluminum parts.
It is no surprise that EPIC Fuels commissioned such company to prepare the momentous gifts. ModelWorks Direct is a model fabrication company owned and operated by a prestigious team of architects, fabricators, and builders, who have well over 40 years of experience.
They custom build model aircrafts (just like this special Pitt Aircrafts), ships, cars, and just about anything under the sun. Their works also vary in size – from desktop to full scale. They have many available options such as fully custom paint scheme, custom interior details, and just about any customization humanly possible.
“Our team can compete with the largest corporations in the industry because of low overhead and 50 years of combined expertise,” said Herman Bongco, spokesperson for Modelworks. “We can create an incredibly unique model for you that can serve as a vehicle for exposing your corporate brand with your target audiences.”
Modelworks’ custom models, which can be viewed at http://www.modelworksdirect.com, are used in trade shows, promotional displays, awards events, and more.
