Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF-owned aircraft lessor, AviLease, said Monday it entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the aircraft leasing business of Standard Chartered, which includes Dublin-based Pembroke Group.
The $3.6 billion purchase will see AviLease acquire a portfolio of 100 narrow body aircraft while also becoming servicer for another 22 aircraft. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2023.
The combined platform will own and manage 167 of the latest technology, fuel efficient aircraft, consisting of 145 owned valued at around $6 billion and 22 managed aircraft valued at around $800 million leased to 46 airlines globally.
As part of the transaction, AviLease arranged $2.1 billion of competitive bridge financing commitments from four banks: BNP Paribas, Citibank N.A., HSBC Bank Middle East and MUFG Bank.
AviLease Chairman, Fahad Al-Saif, said, “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, “We have the ambition to become a top-10 global aircraft lessor and this acquisition brings us one step closer.”
