A&O Shearman, ACCRALAW, Clifford Chance, and Jones Day advised on Dubai Aerospace Enterprise’s (DAE) US$9 billion acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd. acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Macquarie AirFinance Limited (MAF) from Macquarie Asset Management and its co-investors for an approximate enterprise value of US$9 billion.

The acquisition creates one of the largest aircraft leasing platforms in the world.

Following completion, DAE has a fleet of approximately 1,000 owned, managed, and committed aircraft, with its owned and managed fleet leased to over 175 airlines in more than 75 countries. MAF had a portfolio of 352 commercial aircraft, including orders, across 48 countries.

A&O Shearman advised Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd. On its acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance.

The cross-practice team was led by Partners Paul Nelson and Hugh Robinson, who were supported by Associates Paul McKay, Sheryl Tan and Gurveena Hare. Tax advice was provided by Counsel Gareth Banfield and Associate James Eggleston. Antitrust advice was provided by Partner Pieter Huizing and Senior Associates Pauline van Sande and Bernadette van der Blij. The wider team consisted of colleagues across A&O Shearman’s international offices.

ACCRALAW acted as Philippine counsel to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd. In connection with the compulsory notification requirements under Republic Act No. 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act in connection with its acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital of Macquarie AirFinance Limited.

The acquisition was cleared by the Philippine Competition Commission. The ACCRALAW team was led by Senior Partner Andre Navato and Partner James Patrick Alojado, and assisted by Associate Marco Pantaleon.

Clifford Chance advised Macquarie Asset Management on the sale of aviation infrastructure business, Macquarie AirFinance (MAF), to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE).

The cross-practice Clifford Chance team was led by Corporate Partner Riaz Pirmohamed and Aviation Finance Partner Richard Evans. They were supported by Senior Associates Sophie Stratton and Lara Attarzadeh and Associates Alice Butcher, Cathal Lynam, Alex Szlezinger and Francesca Warren. Tax advice was provided by Partner Edward Page and Senior Associate Viktoria Parkhomenko. Antitrust advice was provided by Partner Anastasios Tomtsis, Counsel Katharine Missenden and Senior Associate Ilya Stekunov. The wider team consisted of colleagues across Employment and Incentives, including Partners Chinwe Odimba-Chapman (Employment) and Andrew Patterson (Incentives), both Partners.

Jones Day advised Macquarie Transportation Finance in the joint divestiture of Macquarie AirFinance Limited, an aircraft leasing platform servicing a broad customer base of major global commercial airlines, alongside its co-investors ART and PGGM, to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd.