Avolon Holdings Ltd. on Friday outlined more details of a
planned initial public offering, though the Ireland-based aircraft
leasing company is continuing talks with a number of potential
buyers in Asia that could lead to a deal for the firm valued at
almost $7 billion, according to a person familiar with the
situation.
China's Avic Capital Co. last week said it was in talks to buy
Avolon, which was launched four years ago with private equity
backing by a group of former Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
executives.
Avolon filed in June for an initial public offering in New York
but has also been courting potential buyers in Asia, with banks and
other finance companies in China and Japan leading a push in the
region to acquire aircraft and other aviation assets.
Talks with Avic intensified in March, said the person familiar
with negotiations. The Chinese company said in a regulatory filing
Friday that it was pursuing two "significant" deals that would lead
to its Shanghai-listed shares being suspended for up to 30
days.
Avolon continues to pursue a New York listing and on Friday
filed additional disclosures, including board nominees that include
former Citigroup Inc. executive Hamid Biglari and Gary Perlin, a
former World Bank official.
The firm owns a fleet of 116 mainly narrowbody aircraft with a
book value of $5 billion and manages 12 more for other investors
leased to 48 airlines. It has a $6.6 billion order book for 74 jets
that includes Boeing Co. 787s, and plans to buy A330neos from
Airbus Group NV.
Avolon's largest shareholders are Cinven Partners LLP, CVC
Capital Partners, Oak Hill Capital Partners and an affiliate of the
Government of Singapore Investment Corp.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com
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