Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Select any marker to jump to the deal entry.
Three patterns run through AerCap's acquisitions — what it looks for, how it pays, and how it folds in what it buys.
3 acquisitions — each with the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, and executive commentary where disclosed.
AerCap acquired the GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) business, the aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric, on November 1, 2021. The transaction combined the two largest aircraft lessors and made AerCap the worldwide industry leader across aircraft, engines and helicopters. Under the transaction agreement GE received 111.5 million newly issued AerCap shares, $23 billion of cash and $1 billion of AerCap senior notes, and immediately following completion GE held approximately 46% of AerCap's issued and outstanding ordinary shares, becoming a related party with the right to appoint one member to AerCap's Board (bringing the Board to ten directors). The GECAS acquisition brought AerCap into engine leasing at scale, the Milestone helicopter leasing business and the AerCap Materials parts-distribution business. 111.5 million newly issued AerCap shares, $23 billion in cash and $1 billion of AerCap senior notes; GE held approximately 46% of AerCap's ordinary shares immediately after closing (AerCap has described the financing of the transaction as approximately $30.5 billion raised).
Completion of this transaction represents an important milestone for AerCap that will generate benefits for our customers, partners, employees and investors for many years to come. In GECAS, AerCap has acquired the right business, for the right price, at the right time, as air travel continues to recover from the pandemic and demand for aircraft leasing continues to accelerate.Aengus Kelly — Chief Executive Officer, AerCap
On May 14, 2014, AerCap acquired, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, 100% of the common stock of International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) from American International Group (AIG). Consideration consisted of $2.4 billion in cash and 97,560,976 newly issued AerCap common shares, leaving AIG with an approximately 46% ownership stake in AerCap. The transaction transferred substantially all of ILFC's assets to AerCap Trust and roughly tripled AerCap's fleet, creating one of the world's largest independent aircraft leasing platforms with approximately $45 billion of assets and about 1,300 aircraft. $2.4 billion in cash and 97,560,976 newly issued AerCap common shares; AIG received an approximately 46% ownership stake in AerCap.
AerCap acquired Genesis Lease Limited in 2010 through the amalgamation of Genesis with AerCap International Bermuda Limited, completed in March 2010 (the FY2014 20-F cites a date of acquisition of March 25, 2010). Genesis was an aircraft leasing company; the deal was AerCap's first of three transformational acquisitions that, alongside ILFC (2014) and GECAS (2021), built AerCap into the global leader in aviation leasing. Transaction value was not disclosed in AerCap's 20-F.