Trowers and Hamlins advises Waha Capital on $270m aircraft leasing joint venture with AerCap

Trowers & Hamlins says that Waha Capital has taken a 50% stake in the aircraft leasing joint venture company AerVenture, which was established in 2006 by AerCap. AerVenture was established with a focus on new Airbus A320 family aircraft and has a $2.4bn asset base that includes 22 A320s and firm orders for a further 32 aircraft.

As part of the transaction Waha Capital and AerCap have also agreed a number of separate individual aircraft sales, including the purchase by AerVenture of an Airbus A320 from Waha Capital and the purchase by AerCap of four A320 family aircraft from Waha Capital.

Trowers & Hamlins' Head of Aviation Roger Clarke, who led the team on this deal, comments:

"This has been a very exciting deal for Waha Capital and for Trowers & Hamlins. I am particularly pleased that we completed the deal on-time against both a tight timetable and a challenging backdrop within the global aviation industry."

Adds Roger Clarke: "We enjoy working with the team at Waha Capital and are proud of our long-standing association with them."

Waha Capital is a leading Abu Dhabi-based and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)-listed, diversified, investments holding company. Its current business portfolio includes big-ticket leasing, financial services, maritime and property development. Waha Capital's main institutional shareholders are Mubadala Development Company and Abu Dhabi Investment Company.

AerCap is an integrated global aviation company with a leading market position in aircraft and engine leasing, trading and parts sales. The company also provides aircraft management services and performs aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services and aircraft disassemblies. AerCap is headquartered in The Netherlands and has offices in Ireland, the United States, Singapore, China and the United Kingdom.

For Trowers & Hamlins, London-based Head of Aviation Roger Clarke led a team including corporate partners Adrian Jones and Andrew Watkins. Roger Clarke has advised Waha Capital for several years and worked with them on a significant number of acquisition, sales and leasing transactions.

AerCap was advised by McCann Fitzgerald (Ben Gaffikin).