en.Wedoany.com Reported - Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) and Neuberger Specialty Finance have jointly launched an aircraft leasing investment platform, Mustang Aerospace, targeting approximately $6 billion in investments through multiple vehicles over the medium term to acquire a diversified aircraft portfolio for global airline customers.
This marks DAE's second joint investment platform launched within three months. In April, DAE partnered with Blackstone Credit & Insurance to launch the Equator platform, targeting annual aircraft investments of approximately $1.6 billion.
Sindy Foster, Managing Partner at Avaero Capital Partners, told EnterpriseAM that DAE has been expanding its aircraft investment and asset management capabilities, and the Mustang platform provides a pathway to leverage institutional capital rather than relying solely on its own balance sheet to scale these activities. Institutional capital enables DAE to grow faster without significantly increasing its own leverage, while generating recurring management and service income beyond leasing revenue.
Goldman Sachs, Mizuho, BNP Paribas, MUFG, Societe Generale, and Truist have agreed to provide committed warehouse financing for this new vehicle. Foster believes that warehouse financing allows the platform to act quickly after acquiring aircraft or portfolios before refinancing through long-term capital, also demonstrating strong lender confidence. Aircraft acquisitions require substantial capital and execution speed, and the participation of multiple banks provides both financing capacity and diversification of funding sources.
Neuberger manages over $5 billion in assets across more than 50 portfolio companies and investment vehicles, and has invested over $16 billion through 80 source partners since the strategy's launch in 2018.
Mustang has not yet disclosed target aircraft types, but Foster expects the platform to prioritize aircraft with strong liquidity, robust demand, and favorable leasing prospects, particularly next-generation narrowbody aircraft that remain attractive amid delivery delays and supply chain constraints.
This new vehicle coincides with DAE's ongoing acquisition of Macquarie AirFinance. The Dubai-based lessor signed a definitive agreement in the first quarter of this year to acquire 100% of Macquarie AirFinance. DAE also plans aircraft acquisitions of up to $3 billion this year and expects over 30 deliveries from Boeing, Airbus, and ATR. CEO Firoz Tarapore emphasized that the company has acquired over 300 aircraft over the past three years through acquisitions and direct manufacturer purchases.
