AerCap Holdings N.V. announced it has completed its acquisition of the GE Capital Aviation Services business (GECAS) from General Electric.

The acquisition positions AerCap as the worldwide industry leader across all areas of aviation leasing: aircraft, engines and helicopters, the company said. The combined company will serve approximately 300 customers around the world and will be the largest customer of Airbus and Boeing.

AerCap now has a portfolio of over 2,000 aircraft, over 900 engines and over 300 helicopters, as well as an order book of approximately 450 of the most fuel-efficient and technologically advanced aircraft in the world. The aircraft fleet represents approximately 90 percent of the assets of the combined company. New technology aircraft are expected to make up 75 percent of the aircraft fleet by 2024.

“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,” said Aengus Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of AerCap. “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.”

Kelly continued, “Many years of dedication and commitment by AerCap and GECAS’s hard working teams have produced an expanded portfolio comprised of the industry’s most in demand aviation assets. Our scale and capabilities enable us to provide comprehensive, innovative, and tailor-made fleet solutions to our customers that are unrivaled in the leasing industry. I would like to thank Larry Culp and his team at GE and the entire team at GECAS, led by Greg Conlon, for their support and cooperation throughout this process.”

“The combination of GECAS and AerCap will deliver significant value for both companies and their stakeholders,” said H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., Chairman and CEO of GE. “This strategic transaction marks significant progress in GE’s transformation to a more focused, simpler, stronger high-tech industrial company, and I’d like to thank AerCap and the exceptional GECAS team for their support in creating the combined company that will better serve customers around the world.”

Transaction Highlights

Under the terms of the transaction agreement, General Electric received 111.5 million newly issued AerCap shares, approximately $23 billion of cash and $1 billion of AerCap notes. General Electric now owns approximately 46 percent of AerCap’s outstanding shares.

In connection with the transaction, Jennifer VanBelle has joined the Board of Directors of AerCap, bringing the number of members serving on AerCap’s Board of Directors to 10.

Advisors

Citi and Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisors and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, NautaDutilh N.V. and McCann Fitzgerald LLP acted as legal advisors to AerCap.