Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Sky Fund I Irish, Ltd. and its subsidiaries from SKY Leasing. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Sky Fund I portfolio comprises 36 owned and committed aircraft on lease to 14 airline customers in 11 countries. The portfolio is more than 90% next generation technology aircraft.
DAE’s Chief Executive Officer, Firoz Tarapore, said: “We are delighted to acquire this unique portfolio of new technology, fuel-efficient aircraft on lease to 14 airlines, including six new airline customers for DAE. This transaction will allow us to continue our growth trajectory and materially increase the proportion of new technology assets in our portfolio. DAE has a successful track record of integrating acquisitions into our business, and we look forward to welcoming additional relationships with our current customers as well as new airline customer relationships.”
"The strong demand for this portfolio is a validation of SKY's strategy of providing capital to airlines to execute on their fleet replacement initiatives. We are pleased to sign an agreement that will recognize the value we have built up on behalf of our institutional investors. We remain committed to the growth of our business through future investment vehicles,” said Austin Wiley, CEO of SKY Leasing.
The transaction will be funded by internal resources and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals. DAE was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and KPMG. SKY Leasing was advised by Milbank and PWC.