SMBC Aviation Capital acquires Goshawk Aviation
The shareholders of Dublin-based Goshawk Aviation, Hong Kong based CTFE and NWS Holdings Ltd., have agreed the offer from lessor SMBC Aviation Capital, in which SMBC will acquire Goshawk for 6.7 billion USD.
Once the deal is finalized, SMBC Aviation Capital will have a portfolio of more than 700 aircraft, as well as 261 open orders for A320neo- and B737MAX-family aircraft. The deal doesn't include aircraft of Goshawk that are currently stuck in Russia due to the sanctions.
SMBC Aviation Capital will gain 24 new customers through this deal and will become the world's second largest aircraft leasing company after AerCap, which itself acquired GECAS in November 2021.
SMBC Aviation Capital was founded in 1994 as International Aviation Management Group. In 2001, it was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland and rebranded as Lombard Aviation Capital. Three years later it was rebranded into RBS Aviation Capital. In 2012, the company was acquired by a Japanese consortium consisting of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company Limited (SMFL) and Sumitomo Corporation. It was subsequently rebranded into SMBC Aviation Capital.
Illustration by SMBC Aviation Capital.