Aircraft Leasing Companies used to be treated as backbone of aviation business & they have been abosorbing the maximum impact of Pandemic, apart from the operators.
As people choose to stay at home & governments closed their borders, Aviation leasing companies started selling their assets or the company itself.
The Deal :
One such case is here, Carlyle Aviation Partners (an affiliate of Carlyle Group) will buy aircraft leasing company 'Fly Leasing Ltd' for an enterprise value of $2.36 billion.
Shareholders of Fly Leasing would get $17.05 per share in cash, valuing the company at $520 million. The price represents a premium of 29% to the stock’s closing price on Friday.
Assets :
Fly Leasing Ltd's assets count as 84 aircrafts (mostly Airbus A320, Boeing 737 MAX) and seven engines, which are on lease to 37 airlines in 22 countries.
The Board of Directors of FLY has approved the Merger Agreement, acting upon the recommendation of a special committee appointed by the Board of Directors and consisting solely of independent and disinterested directors, and has recommended that FLY shareholders vote in favor of the transaction.
What companies have to say ?
"This transaction represents strong value for FLY shareholders at a time when airlines are facing an extremely difficult environment and smaller aircraft lessors are disadvantaged in the debt markets," said Colm Barrington, CEO of FLY.
“We believe in the long-term resilience of the aviation industry. History tells us when we get past a crisis, we will see a return of traffic as people return to travelling. We think we are buying this at an attractive price,” Robert Korn, president and co-founder of Carlyle Aviation Partners, told Reuters.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory clearance and the approval of FLY's shareholders.
About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a global investment firm with industry expertise that deploys private capital across different business segments. The Carlyle Group employs 1,825 people in 29 offices across five continents. Carlyle Aviation Partners,that was founded in 2002, has $6.1 billion of assets under management and 93 airline companies leasing its aircrafts. Website : www.carlyle.com.
About Fly Leasing Ltd.
Fly Leasing is a global aircraft leasing company with a fleet of modern commercial jet aircrafts including Airbus A320, Boeing 737 MAX and others. FLY leases its aircraft under multi-year operating lease contracts to a diverse group of airlines throughout the world. Website : www.flyleasing.com.
