DAE Capital nears deal to buy aircraft leasing firm Macquarie Airfinance, sources say

By Allison Lampert and Tim Hepher

Feb 22 (Reuters) – Dubai-based aircraft lessor DAE Capital is closing in on a deal to buy control of leasing platform Macquarie AirFinance, two industry sources said.

The two firms did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In January, Reuters reported that DAE was among the final contenders for the Macquarie aircraft leasing assets, alongside Saudi Arabia’s AviLease and Qatar’s Lesha Bank.

A sale follows a competitive round of bidding as demand for aircraft soars with commercial planesmakers Boeing and Airbus unable to produce enough jets to keep up with demand from airlines. That has created an opportunity for owners of lessors to sell at premium multiples.

In 2017, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) acquired Dublin-based AWAS, the world’s tenth biggest aircraft lessor.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Chizu Nomiyama )

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