Aircastle has formed a joint venture to invest in leased aircraft with an affiliate of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. The Joint Venture's first investment is two Airbus A330 family aircraft manufactured in 2013 and leased to Indonesian flag carrier, PT Garuda Indonesia. Both aircraft were purchased from Aircastle, which had acquired them earlier this year upon delivery from Airbus. Over time, the Joint Venture hopes to acquire between $500 million to $1 billion of aircraft investments. Aircastle will source and service these investments, complementing the growth in its own portfolio.
Ron Wainshal, Aircastle's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are pleased to expand our relationship with Teachers' through this aircraft leasing venture. We believe that by working together we will be able both to secure larger transaction opportunities and to manage portfolio exposures while continuing to maintain strong servicing relationships with our airline customers. This joint venture, along with the recent strategic investment in our Company by Marubeni Corporation, our largest shareholder, also strengthens Aircastle's capital structure and our competitive position."
Aircastle will provide marketing, asset management and administrative services to the Joint Venture and will be paid market-based fees for those services. The lessor is not obliged to source investments for the Joint Venture or to offer any minimum number of investments to the Joint Venture, and neither partner is obliged to invest in specific transactions. Teachers' investment was led by its Long-Term Equities group, which focuses on direct investments with steady cash flow, growth potential over a long-term horizon and a low to moderate level of risk. Teachers' currently owns a minority stake in Aircastle consisting of 6.9 million shares.
"Teachers' looks forward to working with Aircastle to grow the joint venture," said Lee Sienna, Vice-President of Teachers' Long-Term Equities. "Having the ability to invest in aircraft leasing alongside a skilled partner is very attractive and makes this a unique investment vehicle for us.