Irish-registered aircraft lessor AviLease is reportedly nearing a deal to buy Standard Chartered’s aviation finance unit, which includes Dublin-based Pembroke Aircraft Leasing in a move that could be worth as much as €3.5 bn.
Standard Chartered had said in January that it was considering options for its aviation finance unit. Their division includes Dublin-based Pembroke, a leading global aircraft leasing and financing operation that has clients across the world. Accounts for Pembroke Aircraft Leasing Holdings show that the firm owned 87 aircraft at the end of 2021 and its lease revenue amounted to $335.6m (€314.1m) in 2021. Other income totalled $59m in 2021 and $12.1m in 2020. In 2021, Pembroke generated an operating income of $138.4m. After net finance costs of $81.1m in 2021, it posted a pre-tax profit of $57.2m. The company did not pay a dividend to its parent in 2021, having paid $36m in 2020.
AviLease is headed by chief executive Ted O’Byrne. He resigned in 2021 as managing director and co-head of aviation at Carlyle Aviation Partners. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2010, he was chief investment officer at Dublin-based AerCap. AviLease is backed by the Saudi government and when it was launched last year, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) said that AviLease would scale up through secondary portfolio acquisitions, direct orders with aircraft manufacturers, corporate acquisitions and purchase-and-lease-back transactions. News agency Bloomberg has now reported that AviLease is in advanced talks to acquire the Standard Chartered unit. The acquisition would give AviLease additional scale and allow it to expand its presence in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has also recently launched a new State-owned airline, Riyadh Air. It aims to make Riyadh a hub for traffic between Asia, Africa and Europe. By 2030, it expects to serve 100 destinations. Its Chief Operations Officer is Peter Bellew, former COO at both Ryanair and easyJet and Irishman Ray Gammell has recently joined as chief corporate development and enablement officer.
