Saudi Arabia’s AviLease has purchased a jet-leasing firm for $3.6bn.
PIF-owned AviLease has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the aircraft leasing business of Standard Chartered, which includes Dublin-based Pembroke Group.
The acquisition will bring together two strategically complementary businesses, providing AviLease scale, global diversification and the opportunity to leverage Standard Chartered’s best-in-class team and operating capabilities.
Saudi Arabia’s AviLease snaps up aviation group
As part of the $3.6bn acquisition, AviLease will acquire a portfolio of 100 narrow body aircraft while also becoming servicer for another 22 aircraft.
The combined platform will own and manage 167 of the latest technology, fuel efficient aircraft, consisting of 145 owned valued at circa $6bn and 22 managed aircraft valued at circa $800m leased to 46 airlines globally.
As part of the transaction, AviLease successfully arranged £2.1bn of competitive bridge financing commitments from four banks:
- BNP Paribas
- Citibank
- HSBC Bank Middle East
- MUFG Bank
AviLease Chairman, Fahad Al-Saif, said: “The Standard Chartered leasing business is an industry-leading platform combined with a team of high-calibre professionals with an outstanding reputation.
“This acquisition will propel AviLease and will in turn support Saudi Arabia’s aviation ecosystem, on our path to help realize the Saudi Vision 2030’s objective of diversifying the economy and adding high value employment opportunities for Saudi citizens.”
AviLease CEO, Edward O’Byrne, said: “This acquisition is a fantastic next step in AviLease’s young existence. We are purchasing a very high-quality portfolio of narrow body aircraft on lease to top-tier airlines globally.
“The transaction accelerates the scale-up and lessee diversification of our fleet, demonstrating our ability to execute on our investment strategy.
“Equally important is the ability for us to combine forces and leverage the high-quality capabilities of the Standard Chartered platform.
“We have the ambition to become a top-10 global aircraft lessor and this acquisition brings us one step closer.”
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