The owners of Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) appear to have found a buyer for the aircraft lessor. A unit of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW) has agreed to buy AWAS in a deal expected to close in April.
MSDW has been circumspect about its plans. A unit of the investment bank, MSDW Aircraft Holdings, is to make the purchase, but it seems unlikely to become a long-term asset manager. Industry sources predict it will securitise groups of AWAS aircraft as it sorts out the encumbrances and sells them to third parties. AWAS will probably provide technical and lease servicing support for those aircraft.
Earlier attempts to sell AWAS stumbled on the number and complexity of encumbrances on the lessor's aircraft. Starved of capital by its owners, News Corporation and TNT Post Group, AWAS had resorted to an array of leveraged leases and secured loans to finance new aircraft. Those encumbrances caused several AWAS sales to abort, most recently an attempted purchase by Abu Dhabi-based Oasis International Leasing.
MSDW approached its purchase of AWAS differently. Instead of insisting that all aircraft first be cleared of encumbrances, the investment bank agreed to accept the portfolio essentially "as seen", allowing it to pay less than the $3.2 billion estimated value of the 107 aircraft. AWAS is the world's fourth-largest aircraft operating lessor based on fleet value and fifth-largest based on fleet size.
Source: Airline Business
