A group of investors led by Sumitomo Corp and SMBC Aviation Capital said on Tuesday that it would acquire Air Lease Corp for a $7.4 billion cash deal, in a bid to create one of the world’s largest aircraft lessors.
The deal will expand the portfolio of SMBC Aviation Capital and Sumitomo, and put the combined company in closer contention with AerCap, the largest lessor in the industry.
The combined company will be based in Dublin, the effective headquarters of the global aircraft leasing industry, which finances more than half of all new passenger aircraft deliveries.
Air Lease shareholders will receive $65 in cash for each Class A common share they hold, a 7.9% premium to the company’s last closing price.
Shares of Air Lease were up about 6% in premarket trading.
The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2026, values the aircraft lessor at about $28.2 billion, including debt.
The deal will merge Air Lease’s global platform with SMBC Aviation’s financing power and expand Sumitomo’s aircraft leasing business in scale and profitability.
SMBC Aviation Capital, the world’s second-largest aircraft lessor, traded as RBS Aviation Capital before it was acquired in 2012 by a consortium comprising Japan’s SMFG and Sumitomo Corp.
Air Lease Corp was founded in 2010 by unofficial industry godfather Steven Udvar-Hazy after he left ILFC, the world’s largest aircraft lessor at the time, which he co-founded in 1973.
Hazy sold ILFC to AIG in 1990, but continued to run it until the global financial crisis, when AIG’s financial woes put a strain on ILFC’s ability to borrow money and buy aircraft.
After an unsuccessful bid to buy ILFC back, Hazy stepped down from the company and launched Air Lease.
Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are advising SMBC Aviation Capital, while Air Lease is working with J.P. Morgan Securities.
Reuters
