IBS Software (IBS) has acquired Canada-based AD OPT, an aviation crew management division of US firm Kronos, in a multimillion-dollar deal.

The completion of the transaction follows an announcement in May. Kronos is a multinational workforce management software and services company.

With this acquisition, AD OPT’s headquarters in Montreal is expected to be transformed into a global centre of excellence for crew optimisation software with the formation of IBS Canada.

AD OPT will leverage its expertise in the aviation software industry to offer a unified digital solution for flight and crew management.

As part of the deal, more than 20 AD OPT’s airline customers, including Air Canada, EasyJet, Emirates, FedEx, Garuda, Lion Air, and Qantas, will become IBS clients.

The move will also expand IBS’s global operation and improve its ‘go-to-market capabilities’.

The IBS Centre in Montreal will be supported by a research and development investment strategy to assist clients.

IBS Group executive chairman VK Mathews said: “IBS’s acquisition of AD OPT is a major milestone in our quest to become the leading technology provider to the global airline industry.

“The coming together of IBS and AD OPT will not only allow us to provide the airline industry with the most advanced digital flight operations and crew management platform on the market, but it will also broaden our collective expertise and increase our market reach and addressable market.”

Established in 1987, AD OPT was acquired by Kronos in 2004. The company’s technologies assist airlines in assigning cockpit and cabin crew to fly efficiently, as well as minimising operational costs.