KKR, a global investment firm, and Altavair, a commercial aviation finance company, announced that KKR is making an additional $1.15 billion commitment to expand its global portfolio of leased commercial aircraft in partnership with Altavair. The investment will come from KKR’s credit and infrastructure funds.
KKR deployed and committed $1.7 billion of capital into aircraft deals since forming a partnership with Altavair and acquiring an interest in the company in 2018. KKR, in partnership with Altavair, acquired more than 90 commercial and freighter aircraft through a variety of transactions, including lessor trades, airline direct used and new delivery sale leasebacks, structured transactions and passenger-to-freight conversions and has successfully leased more than 75% of the portfolio to tier-one airlines and operators around the world.
“We are thrilled to deepen our footprint in aircraft leasing through this new commitment, which underscores the conviction that we have in this space and our confidence in Altavair as a partner,” Dan Pietrzak, partner and co-head of private credit at KKR, said. “We look forward to growing our portfolio further to support the fleet needs of airlines and operators around the world.”
“Airlines are increasingly seeking greater liquidity and fleet flexibility, which is creating significant opportunities for high quality leasing teams with deep access to private capital,” Brandon Freiman, partner and head of North American infrastructure at KKR, said. “We are proud to serve this growing need in partnership with Altavair.”
“Aircraft leasing continues to be a dynamic and growing market that offers compelling and differentiated opportunities for experienced investors,” Steve Rimmer, CEO of Altavair, said. “The portfolio that we’ve created over the past several years further evidences the power of combining KKR’s quality capital and capabilities with Altavair’s deep technical and aircraft investing expertise and innovation. We greatly appreciate KKR’s ongoing trust in our platform and look forward to building further on this success in the years to come.”
