LOS ANGELES, CA, July 15, 2010 – Air Lease Corporation (ALC), a new aircraft leasing company being launched by industry pioneer Steven Udvar-Házy and longtime aviation executive John L. Plueger, has secured initial financing of $3.3 billion, and aircraft acquisitions are already underway. Making the announcement were Mr. Udvar-Házy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ALC, who co-founded and led International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) for 37 years, and Mr. Plueger, President and COO of ALC."We are gratified by the confidence investors have placed in our management team through this process, and we are working tirelessly to justify that confidence," said Mr. Udvar-Házy.Mr. Udvar-Házy and Mr. Plueger have assembled a senior management team who collectively share almost 200 years of industry experience and bring longstanding relationships with leaders in the airline, aerospace manufacturing and financial worlds, as well as legal expertise."ALC is committed to helping shape the future of the aviation industry," commented Mr. Udvar-Házy, "and we believe this new venture provides many wonderful opportunities for our airline clients, our business partners and our investors. We look forward to working with the leading global airlines as they modernize their fleets, to consulting with the OEMs as they develop the next generation of fuel-efficient 'green' aircraft, and to continually exploring strategic business solutions that enable our clients to grow and thrive financially."According to Mr. Plueger, to date ALC has raised approximately $1.3 billion of equity capital and approximately $2 billion of committed debt financing. The company is already in the process of acquiring a portfolio of aircraft and has lease commitments from a large group of diversified airlines. By spring 2011, the fleet is expected to exceed more than 100 commercial jet aircraft.Led by Mr. Udvar-Házy, the management team includes John L. Plueger, President and Chief Operating Officer; Grant A. Levy, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary; Marc H. Baer, Executive Vice President, Marketing; Alex A. Khatibi, Executive Vice President; Kishore Korde, Senior Vice President; James C. Clarke, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; John D. Poerschke, Senior Vice President of Aircraft Specifications and Procurement; Robert McNitt, Senior Vice President, Legal; Gregory B. Willis, Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer; and Pierce Chang, Vice President. In addition, Emilio Romano will advise ALC as Regional Director, Latin America.
FBR Capital Markets acted as placement agent/initial purchaser in the company's equity private placement, and Moelis & Company acted as the company's financial advisor. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP acted as counsel to Air Lease in the equity raises.For more information, please go to: www.airleasecorp.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements," including any statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance that are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "anticipates," "believes," "can," "could," "may," "predicts," "potential," "should," "will," "estimates," "plans," "projects," "continuing," "ongoing," "expects," "intends," "hopes" and similar words or phrases. Accordingly, these statements are only predictions and involve estimates, known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in them. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including the following, among others:- the company's status as a recently organized corporation with a limited operating history;- the company's inability to make acquisitions of, or lease, aircraft on favorable terms;- the company's inability to obtain additional financing on favorable terms, if required, to complete the acquisition of sufficient aircraft as currently contemplated or to fund the operations and growth of the company's business;- the company's inability to obtain refinancing prior to the time the company's debt matures;- impaired financial condition and liquidity of the company's lessees;- deterioration of economic conditions in the commercial aviation industry generally;- increased maintenance, operating or other expenses or changes in the timing thereof;- changes in the regulatory environment;- the company's inability to effectively deploy its cash reserves;- the lack of a public market for the company's securities;- the amount of expenses and other liabilities incurred or accrued by the company; and- potential natural disasters and terrorist attacks and the amount of the company's insurance coverage, if any, relating thereto.All forward-looking statements are necessarily only estimates of future results, and there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations, and, therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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