American International Group has agreed to sell its 100-percent stake in International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) to Netherlands-based aircraft leasing firm AerCap Holdings, the companies announced Monday. The total value of the transaction, which includes $3 billion in cash and 97,560,976 newly issued AerCap common shares, total some $5.4 billion based on AerCap’s closing price per share of $24.93 on December 13. Expected to close in the second quarter, the deal effectively ends AIG’s efforts to sell most of ILFC to Chinese investors. Before entering into the agreement with AerCap, AIG terminated the share purchase agreement with Jumbo Acquisition Limited for the sale of up to 90 percent of the common stock of ILFC.
The transaction remains subject to various regulatory approvals and the consent of AerCap’s shareholders. Waha Capital, AerCap’s largest shareholder with a 26-percent stake, has agreed to vote in favor of the transaction.
“This transaction creates a strong foundation for ILFC and positions it for continued market leadership and strategic growth,” said AIG president and CEO Robert Benmosche. “ILFC is a valuable business…However, as we have said all along, the aircraft leasing business is not core to our insurance operations. Upon completion, the transaction will have a positive impact on AIG’s liquidity and credit profile and will enable us to continue to focus on our core insurance businesses.”