Daiwa Airborne — a joint venture between Daiwa Securities Group and Airborne Capital — has officially launched operations on January 8, 2025.
The formation of Daiwa Airborne follows the successful incorporation of Airborne Capital's Japanese subsidiary Airborne Capital Japan and a subsequent acquisition of shares by Daiwa Securities Group.
The Japanese subsidiary's former Japan representative Yoichi Hirotani has also been named as Daiwa Airborne's president and CEO.
Owned in equal 50:50 shares by Daiwa Securities Group and Airborne Capital, Daiwa Airborne will commence operations and offer tax-based financing solutions such as JOL products and management of leasing services for an extensive customer base, including high-net worth individuals and corporate clients.
All of Airborne Capital's JOL business will be consolidated into this new joint venture.
A spokesperson for Airborne Capital confirmed to Airline Economics that Airborne's other joint venture in Japan with Mercuria will continue as normal. Airborne will continue to work with them on developing non-tax-based aviation funds such as Mach 1. Mach 1 is an investment fund targeting and tailored for Japanese investors, which was established by Airborne and Mercuria in 2022.
A person familiar with the matter said there has been good demand for the JOL market as investors come back into the market after being inactive during the pandemic. The demand has remained resilient in the last couple of years despite the weakened yen currency. With the weakened yen, though, there is more appetite for smaller size transactions rather than larger JOL transactions. This, however, is more something for the company to navigate through and understanding what products to offer as opposed to just being a concern, the person added.
Norton Rose Fulbright's team in Tokyo advised Airborne Capital on the joint venture with Daiwa Securities.