Amedeo Capital (Amedeo) has acquired Intrepid Aviation (Intrepid) creating the largest widebody-focused aircraft leasing company with assets under management of $8bn.
Although rumours were circulating late last year regarding Amedeo’s full acquisition of the company, the breakdown in the consortium of investors pushed Amedeo to continue with its plan for the rehabilitation of Intrepid Aviation in partnership with existing equity investors Centerbridge Partners and Reservoir Capital Group.
In the deal announced today, Centerbridge and Reservoir have agreed to acquire a minority stake in Amedeo as part of their continued investment strategy in the aviation industry, while Amedeo will acquire the US management subsidiary of Intrepid and will make a minority investment in Intrepid as part of a broader strategic partnership where Amedeo will provide management and aircraft support services to Intrepid.
Intrepid, which will be rebranded in due course, will continue to operate in Ireland along with its professional team and become a core asset management company. It has entered into a multi-year aircraft management and services agreement with Amedeo.
Intrepid’s chief executive officer (CEO), Doug Winter, will become vice chairman of Amedeo and current Intrepid chief financial officer (CFO), Mike Lungariello, will become CFO of Amedeo.
“Amedeo remains focused on delivering unique and flexible solutions while building long-term partnerships with airlines and investors,” said Mark Lapidus, CEO of Amedeo. “Both companies will benefit from increased scale, synergies and talent that exist between the two platforms, and enhanced expertise in developing access to permanent capital investment channels. We are very pleased to welcome Doug and Mike to Amedeo and are excited to further augment Amedeo’s capabilities with their significant experience in the aviation industry”.
Amedeo plan includes restructuring the liability side of the Intrepid balance sheet, which will involve refinancing an unsecured bond and restructuring some senior debt by leveraging Amedeo’s access to more permanent long-term capital channels.
JPMorgan acted as financial advisor to Intrepid Aviation. Jefferies acted as financial advisor to both Centerbridge and Reservoir. Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor to Amedeo. Milbank, Tweed Hadley & McCloy acted as legal counsel representing Centerbridge, Sullivan & Cromwell acted as legal counsel representing Reservoir, and Clifford Chance acted as legal counsel representing Amedeo.