From one private equity owner to another – OAG has switched from Axio to Vitruvian in a deal in the region of $215 million.

The sale comes almost four years to the day since UBM offloaded the business and six other related divisions for £160 million to what was then known as Electra Partners.

Vitruvian initially stated that terms of the new acquisition were not to be disclosed but Axio confirmed in its own statement that the deal was for “approximately $215 million”.

OAG is best known as the provider of data on flight information and real-time tracking to airlines, airports, government agencies and travel brands.

The company’s biggest strategic development in the period between switching PE ownership came in January 2015 when it bought FlightView for an undisclosed fee.

The sale is inevitably being touted as a solid financial success story for Axio.

Epiris (the division it sat in at Axio) partner, Alex Cooper-Evans, says:

“The business has been transformed during the period of our ownership with strategic focus, operational improvement and investment. OAG has grown earnings at more than 30% a year since 2013 and now has a clear strategy to continue its growth in the future.

“The sale of OAG takes our realised return on this investment to 3.9x cost, and the total return to 4.8x.”

Phil Callow had been with UBM since 2007 and assumed the reins as CEO in April 2013, shortly after its sale to Axio.

“Over the last few years we have strengthened OAG by building the world’s most comprehensive flight status database, expanding our suite of analytical tools and launching a unique real-time flight schedule product.”