International Lease Finance Corporation (more commonly known as ILFC) registered on Friday with the SEC for an initial public offering. Backed by AIG, ILFC is the world's largest independent aircraft leasing firm with a portfolio of over 1,000 owned or managed aircrafts designed to meet the assortment needs that its geographically diverse, airline customer base demands. Although the company has yet to announce terms for the offering, it is speculated that the offering may be as much as $1.8 billion, representing approximately 20% of the firm's rumored $8-10 billion valuation.
The announcement of the company's intentions to pursue an IPO has been somewhat anticipated and the offering is more than likely a part of AIG's plans to sell off non-core businesses to repay the US Treasury. ILFC follows the footsteps of fellow aircraft leasing company Air Lease Group (AL) which went public in April and was originally well received but has since struggled, largely due to broad market turmoil. Air Lease Group closed yesterday at $22.37, down nearly 16% from its originally offered price of $26.50.
The Los Angeles-based company booked $4,585 million in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, 2011 and plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ILFC. Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley are the lead underwriters on the deal.
