GE Commercial Aviation Services to acquire CL/PK Airfinance from Crédit Lyonnais.

May 26, 2000

GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) and Credit Lyonnais today announced they have reached an agreement under which GECAS will acquire a subsidiary of Credit Lyonnais, currently known as Credit Lyonnais/PK Airfinance. Credit Lyonnais/PK Airfinance, which provides and arranges aircraft-backed debt to airlines, aircraft lessors, investors and financial institutions, has offices in Luxembourg, New York and Tokyo. After the acquisition, the business will change its name to PK Airfinance. Terms of the transaction, which is subject to approval of Luxembourg regulatory authorities, were not disclosed.

In a related transaction, GECAS and Credit Lyonnais agreed to form a joint venture, Daedalus Airfinance Risk Evaluation S.A., for the shared use and development of SAFE-Statistical Aircraft Financing Evaluation(tm), a proprietary software system developed by PK Airfinance for structuring, pricing and risk measurement of aircraft-backed financial instruments.

CLPK Airfinance, which has operated for the past ten years as the specialized used-aircraft financing department of Credit Lyonnais Global Aviation Finance Division, owns and manages a portfolio of over $850 million consisting of senior and junior loans, debt certificates and asset value guarantees backed by 106 aircraft. The aircraft are predominantly Boeing 737s, 757s, and Airbus 320s operated by airlines in Europe, North and South America and Japan. CLPK Airfinance also arranges debt, and provides advice relating to the sale of aircraft and the evaluation, structuring and documentation of aircraft-backed transactions.

CL's Global Aviation Finance Division will maintain and develop its teams in Paris, New York, Singapore and Tokyo focusing on newly delivered aircraft financing, structured securities underwriting and placement, and global corporate finance services to airlines.

GECAS, a GE Commercial Company, owns and manages a fleet of 950 aircraft and provides services to 155 customers in 54 countries. GECAS provides airlines with a full range of fleet and financing solutions, including operating leases, sale/leasebacks, aircraft purchase and trading, finance leases, engine/spare parts financing, pilot training, fleet planning and financial advisory services. GECAS is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, USA and has offices in Miami, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Vienna and Shannon, Ireland. GE Commercial, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric Company of the U.S., is a global, diversified financial services company.

Return to News