PIF's AviLease to buy Standard Chartered’s aircraft leasing unit for $3.6 bln: Report

AviLease, the rising global aircraft lessor that is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), signed an agreement to purchase the aircraft leasing business of Standard Chartered for $3.6 billion (nearly SAR 13.5 billion), Bloomberg reported.

As part of the acquisition, AviLease will acquire a portfolio of 100 narrow body aircraft while also becoming servicer for another 22 aircraft. The combined platform will own and manage 167 of the latest technology.

In June 2022, the PIF launched AviLease, to focus on sale-and-leaseback transactions (SALTs) with airlines as well as fleet management services and direct orders from aircraft manufacturers, according to data available with Argaam.