AerCap Holdings confirmed it’s in talks with General Electric about a combination that would create a giant of aircraft finance. While details of a potential deal remain unknown, an agreement would reshape a leasing market already roiled by the Covid-19 pandemic. A sale of GE Capital Aviation Services could garner GE about $25 billion, said Bloomberg Intelligence in a 2019 report – before the pandemic gutted demand for flights. As middlemen, aircraft leasing firms have suffered while also playing a critical financing role to keep deliveries flowing, often with sale-leaseback deals that hand cash to airlines with jet handovers. AerCap, with assets of $42 billion, owned 939 aircraft and managed 105, according to a regulatory filing.

Source: The Irish Times March 09, 2021 13:44 UTC