LDN - Business

Avolon firms up deal for 75 Boeing jets, may order 20 more

[November 20, 2017] HONG KONG/PARIS (Reuters) - Chinese-owned aircraft leasing company Avolon has firmed up an order for 75 Boeing <BA.N> airplanes and may order 20 more, its parent Bohai Capital <000415.SZ> said on Sunday.

The Dublin-based leasing group, founded by Chief Executive Domhnal Slattery, agreed to buy 55 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and 20 of the higher-capacity Boeing 737 MAX 10, Bohai said in a filing.

It may order an additional 20 of the main 737 MAX 8 version, it added.

Based on published prices, the confirmed part of the deal would be worth $8.7 billion at list values, though analysts say buyers typically get discounts of at least 50 percent for significant orders of such models.

Including the possible extra purchase of 20 jets, the total deal would be worth $11 billion at list prices, Bohai said.

The announcement broadly confirms a memorandum of understanding signed by Avolon at the Paris Airshow in June for 75 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Slattery said at the time that Avolon was considering Boeing's 737 MAX 10.

Bohai, part of aviation-to-shipping conglomerate HNA Group, said Avolon expected to take delivery of the aircraft between 2021 and 2024.

Avolon was sold to Shenzhen-listed Bohai Capital Holding Co in 2015.

Bohai and other state-backed Chinese firms are expanding in the aircraft financing and leasing business as customer airlines open routes at home and abroad.

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Boeing's logo is seen during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

The announcement comes after Airbus <AIR.PA> and Boeing recently reported orders for a total of around 100 jets from China Development Bank Financial Leasing (CDB Leasing) <1606.HK>.

Airbus publicized the deal for 45 jets last week during the Dubai Airshow, bolstering a show tally dominated by a record preliminary order for 430 jets but no firm business.

However the Airbus order from CDB appeared to correspond to a pre-show announcement by Boeing of an order for 56 jets from the same company, or a net 52 after conversions.

Both deals were approved on Nov. 8, company filings show.

Airbus declined to comment on the timing of the announcement.

Both jet manufacturers have significant further orders from Chinese companies on their books, but names have not yet been disclosed for commercial reasons, industry sources said.

(Reporting By Anne Marie Roantree, Twinnie Siu, Tim Hepher. Editing by Jane Merriman and David Evans)

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