PRESS RELEASE
4 July 2005
Acquisition of debis AirFinance Completed
debis AirFinance, Europe’s largest aircraft
leasing and asset management company, announced today that the acquisition of
the Company has been successfully completed. Cerberus Capital Management has
acquired all the share capital and certain debt held by the exiting
shareholders DaimlerChrysler, Bayern LB, Dresdner Bank, DZ BANK and
HypoVereinsbank.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Pieter Korteweg, designated Chairman of the newly
formed debis AirFinance Group Board,
said: “This acquisition represents a continuation of Cerberus’ interest in the
aviation industry. debis AirFinance
is one of the most capable global operating lease platforms in the
industry. We look forward to building on
debis’ platform while exploring a number of growth options.”
Klaus Heinemann, Chief
Executive Officer of debis AirFinance
said: “The new ownership structure gives us the financial strength to take the
company to the next stage of its development.
We look forward to exploring growth options and will make best use of
the opportunities that will be available to us.
We are determined to build on our role as a very visible fixture in the industry.”
The exiting shareholders were advised throughout the
transaction by Rothschild. Cerberus had financing provided by Lehman
Brothers, Calyon and IXIS Capital Markets, and was advised by Lehman Brothers
and IXIS Capital Markets.
About debis AirFinance
debis AirFinance is one
of the largest global lessors of commercial aircraft.
Alongside the leasing and financing of aircraft,
debis AirFinance provides a wide
range of aircraft servicing, asset
management and related services. These services are typically provided to
airlines, securitisation vehicles and other investors in the aviation industry.
debis AirFinance has a
fleet of 126 modern aircraft. The
portfolio is well-diversified across different aircraft
types, regions and customer categories. debis
AirFinance also has order positions for new Airbus A320
family aircraft.
In addition, the Company manages another 107 aircraft under full-service contracts for third
party owners and provides financial and corporate services for 164 aircraft. debis AirFinance
acts as servicer or administrator for leading aircraft
securitisation vehicles (AerCo and Airplanes Group).
debis AirFinance is
headquartered in Amsterdam
and has offices in Shannon,
Ireland, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
USA. Worldwide,
the company employs 109 people from more than 20 countries.
About
Cerberus Capital Management
Headquartered in New
York, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. and its
affiliated entities manage funds and accounts with capital in excess of US$16
billion.
Media contact debis AirFinance:
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Frauke Oberdieck
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Corporate Communications
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debis AirFinance
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Evert van de Beekstraat 312
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Tel.: +31 20 655 9616
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1118 CX Schiphol
Airport Amsterdam
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Fax: +31 20 655 9100
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The Netherlands
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Email: foberdieck@debisairfinance.com
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www.debisairfinance.com
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