Representing Buyers and Sellers in the Purchase and Sale of Flight Schools
Our experience in aviation and business sales is a valuable asset for parties seeking to buy or sell a flight school.
The expertise of our M&A experts includes first-hand knowledge and experience in flight school ownership and operations, and we are knowledgeable in the nuances of the sale and acquisition of federally regulated Part 141 companies.
Whether the subject company is a regional flight school employing a half-dozen part-time instructors or a national chain of flight schools with full-time instructors and staff and a fleet of company-owned aircraft and simulators, FBO Sales can guide the purchase or sale to a successful closing.
Purchase and Sale of Flight Schools
In helping flight school sellers realize their unique business sale objectives, and in helping flight school buyers (see below) achieve their acquisition and expansion goals, FBO Sales’ M&A professionals bring to bear their decades of aviation and business sale experience, enhanced by our skill in understanding our clients’ unique and, in many cases, deeply personal motivations in entering into a sale or acquisition.
Services to Sellers
In the M&A industry, where only one in five businesses marketed is actually sold, the closing rate of FBO Sales and its sister company, IBG Fox & Fin, in achieving profitable business sales is more than three times the industry average.
For sellers, our superior methods yield super business sales results. Sellers benefit from the innovation and original thinking we continually build into our practices, such as the FBO Sales Process, a methodology expressly developed to help your flight school bring top dollar. It’s the result of our more than 75 years of combined experience and involvement in the sale of more than 500 companies, in aviation and other industries.
Our approach to selling flight schools and other aviation businesses is inspired by a simple, yet powerful, proposition:
If we target the best-qualified, best-fit buyers, and present your business in its best light, the result will be the highest value the market will pay for your business.
Stated another way, in identifying, targeting and communicating with prospective buyers on behalf of sellers, we use a rifle, not a shotgun. As a consequence, because we work the process for you, you can rest assured in the knowledge that, when the deal is done, you will have achieved maximum value for your flight school, accomplished your objectives in selling, and left no money on the table. We scrutinize the terms of the sale and how the deal is structured, so that, after all of the taxes and selling costs are paid, you maximize what you put in your pocket, and your vision for creating, operating and selling your flight school will be realized.
Services to Buyers
FBO Sales serves three distinct flight school buyer profiles: corporate and strategic buyers, private investment groups, and high net worth individuals. While each buyer group typically has its own acquisition objectives and search criteria in evaluating businesses for sale, all of them seek flight school acquisition opportunities that achieve a true fit with their goals.
As we discuss more thoroughly on our Buyer Services page, FBO Sales offers two services for buyers of flight schools and other aviation businesses: the Fly-Over and the Proactive Search.
FBO Sales begins the Fly-Over by working to understand your needs, experiences and goals. That process prepares us to better help you identify the business and financial characteristics that you seek in an acquisition opportunity. From there we begin a comprehensive search that aims to identify all available companies that are “on the market.” We do this by analyzing a variety of sources, including reviewing the companies we represent, surveying business broker associations, searching appropriate websites, and working with our extensive, informal network of intermediaries, financial professionals and experienced advisors.
If your aviation business acquisition objectives warrant a more involved and comprehensive search designed to unearth hidden opportunities – i.e., companies that are not on the market – you should consider FBO Sales’ Proactive Search.
Here are the two most valuable advantages of pursuing a flight school identified through our Proactive Search:
- The flight schools we identify are often a better fit for you.
- You may be the first potential buyer to look at a particular flight school, and the only potential buyer who is talking with the owner.