BBA Aviation, parent company of Signature Flight Support, announced May 23 that it will purchase privately held Epic Aviation for $88.1 million. The transaction is subject to government and regulatory approval, and BBA expects it could be wrapped up by the third quarter.

Texas-based Epic provides aviation fuel supply, logistics, transaction processing and through its QT Pod subsidiary, self-service fueling devices. It currently provides fuel and fuel-related services to 205 privately owned, independent FBOs, 185 of them Epic-branded and the remainder under the UVAir umbrella

According to BBA (Booth O104), Epic will act as a separate operating business within its portfolio. The addition of Epic's locations will complement the existing Signature Select affiliate program, which will operate alongside Signature’s owned FBO network, bringing it to more than 400 locations worldwide.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to acquire Epic,” stated BBA CEO Mark Johnstone. “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 FBO network and continuing to establish a competitive cost structure through investment in technology and economies of scale.”

The purchase also expands the existing relationship between the two companies, which saw the development of the Epic/Signature Multi-Service Aviation Card, which is accepted for payment at more than 8,000 locations worldwide, through U.S. Bank’s Multi Service Aviation Network.