GIC buys stake in world's largest manager of leased aircraft investments

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund is buying close to one third of the world’s largest manager of investments in leased commercial jet aircraft.

GIC said it plans to acquire approximately 30% of BBAM from the company’s management team and private equity firm Onex Group.

The transaction will mean all three shareholders hold minority stakes in the company.

The investment follows a commitment by GIC earlier this year to Incline Aviation, the aircraft leasing industry’s largest institutional fund, managed by BBAM.

Arjun Khullar, head of integrated strategies group at GIC, said: “BBAM is a remarkable platform built upon a 30-year joint venture with Nomura Babcock & Brown.

“It has expanded through its founding and ongoing management of FLY, and Incline.

“As a long-term investor, we believe it is a unique opportunity to invest in the aircraft leasing sector which has strong growth potential.”

Tawfiq Popatia, managing director at Onex, said: “GIC’s participation in BBAM is a strong endorsement of the asset management model that BBAM pioneered more than two decades ago and the investment returns realised on assets managed by BBAM over that period.

“Leased commercial jet aircraft are widely accepted as a bona fide asset class today and much of that can be traced back to the efforts of Steve [Zissis, BBAM’s founder, chairman and chief executive] and his team.”