Pembroke Capital is to merge its aircraft management business with that of Aircraft Financing and Trading (AFT), the Dutch-based aircraft leasing subsidiary of Rolls Royce.
The new company, to be called Pembroke Group Limited, will be one of the top five aircraft leasing groups in the world with a portfolio of 60 aircraft valued at more than $950 million (£642 million). It will also manage 65 aircraft worth about $1.4 billion on behalf of third-party owners.
"The addition of AFT's lease portfolio to that of Pembroke's marks the emergence of a new force in aviation leasing. The owned and managed aircraft of Pembroke Group will have an asset value exceeding $2.3 billion," said Mr Shane Cooke, chief executive of Pembroke Capital and the head of the new group.
Pembroke Group will be 50 per cent-owned by Rolls Royce while 50 per cent will be held by Pembroke Capital's management and other Irish investors, including International Investments & Underwriting (IIU).
IIU is the investment vehicle of financier Mr Dermot Desmond and should end up with a 30 per cent stake in the merged entity, Mr Cooke said. The merger must first receive approval from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Mr Cooke said the new company would concentrate on three principal lines of business - aircraft leasing, the provision of financial services and aircraft asset management. It would be mandated by Rolls Royce to manage aircraft which it had contracted to acquire or might acquire in support of its aero engine sales. This should be a particular boost to the new company's business, Mr Cooke said.
Pembroke Capital was founded in 1993 by three former GPA executives - Mr Brian Goulding, Mr Michael Dolan and Ms Margaret Clandillon. In 1995, IIU invested $15 million for a 50 per cent stake in the company which recently signed a $320 million order with Boeing for 10 new aircraft.
Pembroke Capital is based in the International Financial Services Centre and will maintain its headquarters in Dublin.
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