Perella Weinberg Partners Asset Based Value Strategy, a leading alternative asset management strategy and a unit of Perella Weinberg Partners, and Hawke Aerospace Holdings, LLC (“HAH”), announced today that they have launched Infinity Helicopter Leasing, LLC, a new helicopter equipment leasing venture.
Infinity Helicopter Leasing will focus primarily on the light (single and twin) and medium helicopter equipment types throughout the Western Hemisphere, particularly on-shore operators in the United States and Canada, such as health care organizations that use helicopters for air medical transportation, law enforcement agencies and utility operations. HAH’s maintenance, repair and overhaul subsidiary, Uniflight, and flight services subsidiaries, Keystone Med-Flight and Aviation Services Unlimited, will also be involved with the venture.
Infinity Helicopter Leasing and its affiliates acquired four helicopters in December 2013, the company’s first aircraft acquisitions.
David Schiff, a Partner of Perella Weinberg Partners and Portfolio Manager of the Perella Weinberg Partners Asset Based Value Strategy, stated, “We are excited to launch Infinity Helicopter Leasing in partnership with Joe Hawke and his team at HAH. This partnership marks our entry into the rotary-wing class of aircraft and reflects our strategy of launching new businesses with experienced management teams in markets where we see an opportunity to provide unmatched solutions. We look forward to growing Infinity Helicopter Leasing and leveraging our existing infrastructure to meet the increasing market demand in this important niche.”
Joe Hawke, Chairman and CEO of HAH, and Managing Director of Infinity Helicopter Leasing, said, “We are excited to be aligned with Perella Weinberg Partners Asset Based Value Strategy and to be working with David and his team. They bring an innovative approach to investing in capital equipment, focusing on the quality of the equipment and the nature of the operation, rather than the more traditional bank lending approach to credit underwriting. This partnership allows us to serve a greater segment of the helicopter industry and grow a significant portfolio of attractive equipment that will foster business development in our target markets.”
Perella Weinberg Partners Asset Based Value Strategy is a leading post-financial crisis provider of U.S. specialty finance solutions. Since inception in 2008, the strategy has grown to manage approximately $2.1 billion in equity capital through a number of different investment vehicles. Perella Weinberg Partners Asset Based Value Strategy can deliver significant capital, technical expertise and infrastructure in a wide range of asset classes and structures, including both real and financial assets. Capital for the strategy is contributed by, among others, a diversified group of institutional investors who seek to invest in compelling opportunities at favorable valuations.
Perella Weinberg Partners is a leading independent, client-focused financial services firm providing advisory and asset management services to a broad, global client base, including corporations, institutions and governments. The Advisory business advises clients on mergers, acquisitions, defense advisory, financial restructuring, private capital raising, and pension matters. The Asset Management business includes a suite of hedge fund strategies, private investment funds (including real estate) and outsourced CIO solutions. Together with its affiliates, the Asset Management business has capital commitments and managed assets of approximately $10.7 billion. With more than 400 employees, Perella Weinberg Partners maintains offices in New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Denver, Dubai, and San Francisco.
Hawke Aerospace Holdings is a leading provider of customized helicopter airlift solutions, which it delivers through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Aviation Services Unlimited (utility operations), Keystone Med-Flight (air medical transportation), and Uniflight (maintenance, repair and overhaul services). Leveraging the diversity of its service offerings, Hawke Aerospace specializes in developing tailored solutions designed to meet the exact specifications of its customers across the continuum of fixing, flying and, now with Infinity Helicopter Leasing, financing helicopter equipment.