Dunas Capital sold seven A321 aircraft for over $200 million, the company said on April 3, 2025.
The company said it is continuing to make progress in the divestment of its specialised Dunas Aviation I strategy, supported with this sale. The investment, made in 2021, consisted of a co-investment with Banco Santander in a fleet of seven short-to-medium range aircraft on lease with Cebu Pacific.
The divestment in this portfolio of aircraft generated a net return of 1.8x the investment and close to 20% internal rate of return (IRR) for Dunas Aviation I shareholders, which the company said is "much higher than the target return of the vehicle.
“At Dunas Capital, we have been committed to the aircraft leasing sector for more than five years with good results for our clients and we are confident that we will continue to provide returns to our investors through this investment strategy through a diversified portfolio of assets, stable long-term cash flows, periodic distribution, and predictable returns,” said Dunas Capital president David Angulo.
Dunas Capital AM head of alternative investments Cristina Morena added: “Dunas Aviation I has met its investment objective and is in an advanced phase of divestment, exceeding the profitability expectations that we set ourselves from the beginning.”
As part of the vehicle’s strategy, focused on investing in commercial aircraft on long-term lease to state-owned airlines and domestic market leaders with good credit risks, two deals were closed with the Portuguese airline TAP for two Airbus A321 LR neo, one with Qatar Airways for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, two Airbus A220-100 aircraft on lease from the US airline Delta Airlines and seven Airbus A321s with Cebu Pacific. The company said the team has managed to build “a global, diversified portfolio, with exposure to four different aircraft models, four very different geographies and four top-tier airlines” in six months.
The company said that it has already begun analysing new opportunities for a second fund that follows a similar strategy to the first after its “good results” to strengthen its position.