Investment firm KKR has announced plans to invest an additional $1.15bn in Altavair to expand its global portfolio of leased commercial aircraft.
“We are thrilled to deepen our footprint in aircraft leasing through this new commitment, which underscores the conviction that we have in this space and our confidence in Altavair as a partner,” said Dan Pietrzak, KKR partner and co-head of private credit.
"The portfolio that we’ve created over the past several years further evidences the power of combining KKR’s quality capital and capabilities with Altavair’s deep technical and aircraft investing expertise and innovation," said Altavair chief executive Steve Rimmer.
KKR will draw on its credit and infrastructure funds for the investment. It said it has pumped over $8bn into the aviation sector since 2015, including $1.7bn through its partnership with Altavair, which has involved 90 commercial and freighter aircraft through a variety of transactions, including lessor trades, airline direct used and new delivery sale leasebacks, structured transactions and passenger-to-freight conversions.
More than 75% of the KKR-Altavair portfolio has been leased to tier-one airlines and operators around the world.
“Airlines are increasingly seeking greater liquidity and fleet flexibility, which is creating significant opportunities for high quality leasing teams with deep access to private capital,” said Brandon Freiman, KKR partner and head of North American infrastructure.