Steven Udvar-Hazy-founded lessor Air Lease (ALC) is to be acquired by a consortium of investors including rival SMBC Aviation Capital in a $7.4 billion cash deal that promises to shake up the aircraft leasing market.
Working alongside Sumitomo Corporation, one of its Japanese owners, and private equity firms Apollo and Brookfield Credit, SMBC says the definitive agreement has been approved by ALC’s board.
It will pay stockholders $65 per share, valuing ALC at $7.4 billion. However, this rises to $28.2 billion if debt obligations to be assumed or refinanced are included, net of cash.
At closing – expected in the first half of 2026 – ALC will be renamed Sumisho Air Lease and will remain a separate entity. However, SMBC will acquire its new sister company’s orderbook.
At the end of the second quarter, ALC held firm orders for 241 aircraft: 36 Airbus A220s, 130 A320/A321neos, a single A330neo, 64 Boeing 737 Max jets and 10 787-9/10s, financial filings show. Deliveries are scheduled through 2031.
That will significantly diversify SMBC’s current order book, which comprises 159 A320neo-family aircraft alongside 89 examples of the 737 Max.
SMBC will additionally act “as a servicer” to the majority of Sumisho Air Lease’s 495-strong portfolio of in-service aircraft, over a quarter of which are widebodies.
At present, SMBC’s portfolio of 741 owned or managed aircraft consists mainly of single-aisles, with a handful of A350s (21) and 787s (27) also included.
“This transaction is transformational for our business and the leasing landscape,” says SMBC chief executive Peter Barrett, and will allow the company to “take a strategic lead in reshaping our sector.
“Our industry is evolving at pace and requires significant and diverse pools of capital so that our airline and investor customers can be provided with the products and services they need.”
SMBC, Citi and Goldman Sachs Bank USA have provided $12.1 billion of committed financing in connection with the transaction, the company adds.
However, the deal remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Air Lease’s shareholders and competition regulators.
