Steven Udvar-Házy ups bid to buy select parts of ILFC fleet

An agreement to sell off the more valuable parts of American International Group's (AIG) ILFC aircraft leasing business may be concluded as early as next week, according to media reports (Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, 30-Nov-2009). ILFC CEO Steven Udvar-Házy may reportedly double his planned bid for ILFC from USD2 billion to USD4 billion, with cooperation from Onex, Greenbriar and Canada Pension Plan. Udvar-Házy originally sold the company to AIG nearly 20 years ago for USD1.3 billion and is now seeking to buy only the more marketable parts of the fleet. This would include mainly the newer widebody aircraft, but a concern for AIG would be what to do with the remainder of the fleet. Equally, the wider aircraft-owner market would be worried that a firesale of less valuable but still useful aircraft could depress the market. Another concern comes from the uncertainty created by Dubai World's debt problems; subsidiary Istithmar has a large order book of aircraft, as well as current leases.