“We think the M&A pipes are starting to flow again now that we can see a travel recovery light at the end of the pandemic tunnel,” they said. Bids for the Fly Leasing portfolio are due in any day so that a deal could be announced shortly, while “a different mix of owners” at Avolon remains likely.
Avolon’s Owners
HNA tried to sell Avolon in 2019 at an $8.5 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported at the time, reaching out to potential buyers including Japan’s Orix Corp., which controls 30% of the business with the Chinese conglomerate’s Bohai Leasing Co. arm owning the rest.
At the same time, AerCap’s biggest rivals, such as Air Lease Corp., are unlikely to respond with a knee-jerk reaction to quickly find deals of their own, JP Morgan said.
Ross Harvey at Davy Stockbrokers in Dublin said AerCap’s growth will at the very least sharpen the focus of lessors on positioning for an aviation up-cycle.
While the pandemic has impacted each differently based on their exposure to different aircraft and airlines, most investment-grade firms have been able to raise cash at quite reasonable prices, he said.
-With assistance from Shirley Zhao, Julie Johnsson and Mary Schlangenstein.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.