Shareholders have approved Chorus Aviation’s planned $825 million sale of its aircraft leasing business to HPS Investment Partners, a deal Chorus has said it aims to close before year-end.
The Halifax-based aviation services company, which also owns Canadian regional airline Jazz Aviation, said on 25 September that shareholders approved the planned sale by a 98% margin.
The move, when completed, will see Chorus dispose of a leasing segment it started in 2016, leaving the company with three remaining divisions: Jazz, aircraft modification and service provider Voyageur Aviation and pilot-training school Cygnet Aviation Academy.
Chorus on 30 July revealed its plan to sell its Regional Aircraft Leasing unit for proceeds of $825 million to HPS, an investment firm with offices in New York City. As part of the agreement, HPS will assume responsibility for $1.1 billion in aircraft-related debt.
When formed in 2016, Chorus called the leasing business Chorus Aviation Capital. At the time, the company said intended to create a “globally competitive regional aircraft leasing” operation that would diversity its business beyond its airline Jazz.
The leasing business’s fleet stood at 124 aircraft at the end of 2023, including ATR turboprops, De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s, Embraer 170s and E190s, and MHIRJ CRJ regional jets, according to securities filings.
Customers include airlines such as Aeromexico, Air Canada, Brazil’s Azul, Ethiopian Airlines, KLM Cityhopper, Philippine Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines.
Chorus says the sale of the leasing division still requires regulatory approval.
With proceeds from the sale, Chorus says it intends to eliminate “substantially all… corporate debt”.
