BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators will decide by July 26 whether to clear a $30 billion bid by Ireland’s AerCap to buy the aircraft leasing business of General Electric, a European Commission filing showed on Monday.
The world’s two largest aircraft leasing companies are seeking to create a new financing giant which would be the largest buyer of jetliners built by planemakers Airbus and Boeing.
The deal will reshape a global air finance industry that has attracted a flood of capital in recent years as investors look for higher returns.
AerCap requested EU approval on Friday.
The EU competition enforcer can approve the deal with or without concessions or it can open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns.
Analysts said the scale of the combined entity, controlling about three times the number of aircraft as its nearest competitor, Dublin-based Avolon, could force AerCap to offload aircraft to meet antitrust demands.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Edmund Blair)
