Partners (ATL), an aerospace and transportation focused private equity firm, has announced that it is partnering with the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers, to form SKY Leasing. As part of the transaction, SKY Leasing will acquire certain assets of Sky Holding Company (SHC) controlled by leasing industry veteran Richard Wiley.
Wiley and other key members of SHC management will form the leadership team of SKY Leasing.
With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and ancillary operations in San Francisco,
California, SKY Leasing has over $250 million of initial equity capital available to provide sale/lease-back financing solutions globally to commercial airlines seeking to lease young mid-life Boeing and Airbus aircraft. SKY Leasing will also act as servicer to 54 aircraft on behalf of three securitizations.
“We are very excited to partner with ATL and PSP Investments, two investors with a deep understanding of the commercial aerospace sector,” said SKY Leasing Chief
Executive Officer Wiley. “We look forward to building a best-in-class lessor with an initial target of $1 billion of Boeing and Airbus aircraft.”
“We have admired Richard’s prior ventures at SHC, Pegasus and Jackson Square
Aviation and are delighted to partner with him and his management team in establishing SKY Leasing,” said Frank Nash, Chief Executive Officer of ATL. “As a sector-focused private equity fund, ATL is mandated to deploy equity capital into the transportation continuum and we see tremendous opportunity in delivering financial solutions to the global commercial fleet.”
“As a long-term investor, PSP Investments views aviation finance as an attractive sector to deploy significant capital in the years ahead,” said Jim Pittman, Managing Director, Private Equity for PSP Investments. “This investment is consistent with our direct and co-investment strategy to partner with experienced management teams who have the capability to scale investments over time. We look forward to supporting SKY Leasing as it pursues its ambitious growth plans,” Pittman added.
The SKY Leasing management team has developed extensive relationships in the global airline community by leasing aircraft to over 100 airline customers globally and executing more than 600 aircraft transactions valued at over $20 billion.