Dublin-based aircraft leasing company AerCap has been chosen as the winner of the Deal of the Year award, as part of the fourth Irish Times Business Awards.
In November 2021, AerCap, which is led by Irish man Aengus Kelly, completed its acquisition of the GE Capital Aviation Services business from General Electric.
The deal involved $23 billion (€20 billion) in cash and 111.5 million of new AerCap shares, and made AerCap the biggest aircraft leasing company in the world. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and also has a base in Shannon.
At the time of the transaction, the combined company was set to serve about 300 customers around the world and was to be the largest customer of Airbus and Boeing.
Portfolio
The deal gave AerCap a portfolio of more than 2,000 aircraft, some 900 engines and about 300 helicopters, as well as an order book of about 450 of the most fuel-efficient and technologically-advanced aircraft in the world.
The judges decided the size and scale of the deal merited AerCap receiving the award, which was presented at a ceremony in Dublin on Thursday. The other companies shortlisted for the award were global payments company Stripe, forecourt retailer Applegreen and UDG Healthcare.
Similar to other aircraft leasing companies, AerCap has been impacted by the war in Ukraine with a number of aircraft held by Russian airlines that are now subject to sanctions. The airline has said its Russian leases account for 5 per cent of its fleet by value.
The Irish Times Business Awards are run in association with Bank of Ireland.
