A private equity firm co-founded by a former boss of Boots The Chemist is paying close to £100m to land the purchase of IBA Group, a leading player in the aviation data and intelligence sector.

MEZIESBLOG understands that bd-capital, whose previous investments have included the gut health supplements maker Symprove, will announce this week that it has agreed to buy IBA from its previous owners, TPA Capital.

The deal will see bd-capital advisor Graham Elton taking over as chairman of IBA Group, which provides data products, advisory and management services to airlines, aircraft lessors and other industry stakeholders around the world.

Mr Elton has had a string of successful periods chairing other private equity-backed businesses, including With Intelligence, which was sold to S&P Global last year for $1.8bn, and Law Business Research.

Founded in 1988 and UK-headquartered, IBA Group’s sale comes at a critical time for the civil aviation industry globally, with anxiety about the possibility of jet fuel shortages triggered by the ongoing crisis in Iran.

The company’s business has been built on addressing a scarcity of transparent data which exists to assist stakeholders in the aviation finance sector.

Its digital solutions arm, IBA Insight, is understood to have enabled the company to monetize proprietary data collected over decades of advisory work in the aviation industry.

Gerry Gualtieri, IBA Group’s chief executive, will remain with the business following completion of the transaction.

One source said it had attracted numerous offers from private equity firms and other bidders during the process.

Bd-capital was established by heavyweight City figures Richard Baker, the former chief executive of Boots, and Andy Dawson, a former partner at Advent International.

Bankers at Raymond James advised on the sale of IBA Group, which is expected to be announced publicly on Tuesday.

KPMG advised bd-capital, which declined to comment on Monday, on the deal.