It would also mark the latest move by GE boss Larry Culp to offload businesses and reduce debt, after taking over the reins at the struggling conglomerate in 2018.
However, if a deal goes ahead, its sheer size could attract attention from antitrust regulators as AerCap and Gecas are already each roughly twice as big in fleet terms as Avolon.
The structure of any deal to acquire Gecas was not immediately clear but several industry sources predicted it would include a similar stock structure that saw lessor ILFC’s insurance owner AIG become a shareholder in the new AerCap.
Vertical Research Partners analyst Rob Stallard described the venture that will result if AerCap and Gecas ink a deal as the “mother of all leasing companies”.
Negotiations for a tie-up follow years of speculation over the sale of GECAS and come as COVID-19 is expected to shift more of the world’s fleet into the arms of the leasing industry
Jet leasing in shake-up as AerCap, GE unit near deal reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.