Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has signed a deal to acquire aircraft lessor AWAS and expects to complete the purchase in the third quarter of 2017.
DAE says it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the AWAS group of of companies from funds managed by Terra Firma Capital Partners and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
DAE had emerged as one of the front-runners for AWAS after making it into the second round of bidding for the firm.
The combined company will have an owned, managed and committed aircraft fleet of 394 aircraft with a total value of over $14 billion, DAE says.
"This acquisition of AWAS is strategically compelling and propels DAE into a top 10 aircraft leasing platform," says DAE managing director Khalifa AlDoboos.
"Our leasing business has been growing at a rapid clip and this acquisition will more than double the current size of our business, providing the necessary scale for DAE to best serve its customers."
AWAS has a fleet of 263 owned, managed and committed single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft, including a pipeline of 23 new aircraft on order to be delivered before the end of 2018.
DAE's transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, will be financed by its internal resources and committed debt financing.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
