Dubai Aerospace denies plan to buy US leasing firm

16 October 2008

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has ruled out a possible takeover bid for the US leasing group International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC).

One of the world’s largest aircraft leasing firms, ILFC’s future remains uncertain following the US government bail-out of the leasing group’s parent company, American International Group (AIG).

DAE with its leasing arm, DAE Capital, has been seen by industry observers as a possible buyer for the US group should AIG put the business up for sale.

DAE Capital has expanded rapidly since it was launched in 2007, placing $29bn in long-term aircraft orders but remains much smaller than the world’s largest lessors. ILFC has more than 900 planes on its books.

However, a DAE Capital official says the company is not planning to change its current strategy of buying $1bn of aircraft in 2008 and up to $7bn worth of planes within four years (MEED 4:7:08).

“We have a business plan. We are executing that business plan. We are not going to accelerate it,” he says.

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