07 Jun 2022

Irish Aircraft Leasing Newsletter 7 June

Goshawk shareholders approve SMBC Aviation Capital offer Goshawk Aviation announced that it has received approval from shareholders NWS Holdings Limited and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited for lessor SMBC Aviation Capital Limited to acquire substantially all of Goshawk’s commercial aircraft leasing business, excluding any aircraft leased to Russian airlines. Goshawk CEO Ruth Kelly said “I am so proud of the commitment and extraordinary achievements of the Goshawk team who created a world class leasing company, delivering innovative solutions to our customers and value to our stakeholders since 2013. I am confident that this marks the beginning of an exciting chapter as market trends point to growth in aircraft leasing with great opportunities for people involved in aviation.” Investec partners with WNG Capital in air freight transaction Investec Aviation Finance has partnered with WNG Capital on the financing of a Boeing 757-200F on lease to Icelandair. The aircraft was recently acquired by WNG. This is the first transaction between Investec and WNG. Head of Aviation Finance – Africa at Investec Bradley Gordon stated “We are delighted to conclude our first transaction with WNG. Investec continue to be active in the financing of mid-life and end-life passenger and freighter aircraft which aligns with the WNG strategy. We see opportunity to partner together with WNG supporting their future growth. The cargo market remains robust. We have seen how the air freight traffic segment held up through the pandemic, benefitting from the shift to e-commerce and the need to move critical products, such as PPE and vaccines around the world. Freighter aircraft are not as susceptible to border closures or other Covid restrictions as other sectors, such as business travel and tourism.” LCI signs agreement with BETA Technologies (BETA) for a committed order of up to 125 EVTOL aircraft LCI signed an agreement with BETA Technologies (BETA), developer of a fully integrated electric aviation system, to acquire up to 125 of the company’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft LCI’s commitment for BETA’s ALIA-250 eVTOL aircraft will enable the company to sustainably support operations across the globe. Under the terms of the deposit-backed agreement, LCI will initially acquire 50 aircraft with an option for a total of up to 125. The eVTOL aircraft are currently under development at BETA’s facility in Burlington, Vermont. LCI CEO Jaspal Jandu stated “We are embracing this new era of sustainable flight and BETA Technologies’ innovative approach makes them a natural and credible partner for LCI. We believe that the aircraft’s blend of rechargeable battery power, significant internal capacity, and plentiful range is an optimal one. We are confident it will be a popular choice for operators and end-users seeking to develop and augment their fleets with this truly sustainable technology.” SMBC Aviation Capital to acquire Goshawk Aviation for Enterprise Value of $6.7bn SMBC Aviation Capital announced that it has reached agreement with NWS Holdings Limited and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited to acquire Goshawk Aviation. The transaction brings together two strategically aligned and complementary businesses, creating the largest Japanese-owned aircraft lessor and the second largest global player by number of aircraft. The enlarged business will benefit from a best-in-class portfolio focused on new technology narrowbody aircraft and an industry leading funding advantage uniquely positioned to capitalise on opportunities presented by the sector recovery. As part of the transaction, SMBC Aviation Capital will acquire a portfolio of 176 owned and managed aircraft. The combined business will have a portfolio of 709 owned and managed aircraft and an additional $13bn of orders from Boeing and Airbus comprising exclusively of 261 new technology narrowbody aircraft. Aircraft owned by Goshawk that are located in Russia are excluded from this transaction. SMBC Aviation Capital CEO Peter Barrett said “This is the right transaction for SMBC Aviation Capital, allowing us to better serve our customers in a fast-evolving sector whilst also accelerating our growth and delivering significant value for our shareholders. Goshawk is a high-quality business with assets and people that complement our own. The combined business will continue to have a disciplined focus on young, liquid, most in demand narrowbody aircraft with one of the most environmentally friendly portfolios of any major leasing company together with 261 new generation, fuel efficient aircraft on order. We are undertaking this transaction at a strategic point in the cycle with a strong recovery building across the global airline industry and we expect the transaction to be accretive to SMBC Aviation Capital’s return on capital.” Acumen Aviation © 7 June 2022 All Rights Reserved