daboos khalifa

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) is to acquire AWAS, a global leader in aircraft leasing.

The combined company will have an owned, managed and committed fleet of 394 aircraft with a total value of more than $14 billion. It will serve over 110 airline customers across 55 countries from offices in Dubai, Ireland, Singapore and the US.

AWAS, currently owned by funds managed by Terra Firma Capital Partners and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, has a fleet of 263 owned, managed and committed aircraft, with 85 airline customers in over 45 countries.

DAE managing director Khalifa H. AlDaboos said: “This acquisition of AWAS is strategically compelling and propels DAE into a top 10 aircraft leasing platform. 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.”

The transaction will be financed by DAE’s internal resources and committed debt financing. The transaction is subject to required regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in Q3 2017.

DAE recently released its financial results for 2016, which showed total revenue of US$417.8 million (AED 1,534 million), an increase of 22% from US$341.7 million (AED 1,255 million) for the previous year.

Total net income was down 67% to US$199.0 million (AED 731 million) because the firm's 2015 results included a gain on the sale of StandardAero.

In January, DAE announced it had hired Bertrand Grabowski as senior strategic advisor. He was previously a member of the board of directors of DVB Bank, in charge of Aviation and Rail.

Under his leadership, DVB Bank solidified its position as a leading aviation asset based lending platform and expanded its franchise to include aviation asset management, investment management and advisory businesses.

Equipment Finance E-bulletins

Sign up to receive an e-bulletin when we post new Equipment Finance articles

You can unsubscribe at any time with one click.