Boeing to Acquire Jeppesen Sandersen

S E A T T L E, Aug. 15 -- Boeing is buying the flight informationservice provider Jeppesen Sanderson from Tribune for $1.5billion in cash.

The purchase, announced today, is a step toward “transformingBoeing into a global aerospace solutions provider,” said BoeingChairman Philip M. Condit.

“If you’re a pilot almost anywhere in the world, you knowJeppesen,” Condit said in a news release.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Jeppesen, based in Denver, provides aviation mapping andnavigational data, pilot training, computerized flight planning,aviation software, aviation weather services and maintenanceinformation to both airlines and fliers.

Multimedia HoldingsTribune, the Chicago-based media and entertainment concern thatowns the Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times newspapers,acquired Jeppesen in June when it bought The Times Mirror ofLos Angeles.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt andrepurchase stock and “enables us to concentrate our financialresources on Tribune’s major-market multimedia strategy,” ChairmanJohn W. Madigan said in a statement.

Jeppesen generated $235 million in revenues last year and hasexperienced annual growth of more than 10 percent since 1997.

Boeing’s statement said Jeppesen would be operated as a whollyowned subsidiary and current management will be retained.

Jeppesen has 1,400 employees in Denver and at offices in otherU.S. locations and in Germany, Australia, China and the UnitedKingdom.