ST Engineering’s Aviation Asset Management business completed a 50-50 freighter leasing joint venture (JV) with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Temasek in September 2021. The joint venture, Juniper Aviation Investments (Juniper), represents one of the first significant “new money” investments in the freighter sector in 2021, which was created to address the growing demand for freighter aircraft as e-commerce and air cargo volumes expand globally.
Reed Smith’s Singapore team, led by aviation partner Simon Spells and corporate partner Manoj Purush, advised ST Engineering.
Spells, who leads the aviation practice in Asia for Reed Smith, said: “We are delighted to have been named the winners of the Asia-Pacific Freighter Deal of the Year alongside our client, ST Engineering.”
He added: “We are honoured for ST Engineering to have come to Reed Smith for this important and highly strategic transaction. Not only was the transaction significant to our client but also to the market, as demand for freighter aircraft continues to increase, and projections forecast that this trend will continue to grow significantly. The freighter market has been a focus sector for us over the past 24 months, and our experience across the breadth of our aviation group has provided us with unique insight into some of the key dynamics currently driving the changes in the air freight industry.”
Manoj Purush, who led the corporate joint venture aspects of the transaction, said “This transaction demonstrates where the demand is and where the passenger-to-freighter conversion market is heading. Being able to call on our aviation colleagues certainly helped the corporate team deliver on this strategically important transaction for ST Engineering.”
Yip Hin Meng, Executive Vice President & Head, Aviation Asset Management, ST Engineering, said: “As an integrated aerospace solutions provider, we strive to see to the needs of operators as holistically and comprehensively as possible. Our JV with Temasek will do exactly that, offering operators not only a good selection in high-performing and green freighters converted from passenger aircraft, but also the option of enjoying seamless maintenance services by ST Engineering.
“We thank the Reed Smith team for their invaluable support in making this JV happen. As we roll out innovative freighter leasing solutions, and hopefully more exciting deals in the near future, we welcome and look forward to working with other potential like-minded partners who are keen to invest in the freighter aircraft leasing.”