Chinese group buys US plane unit for $4.2bn

A group of Chinese investors will buy a controlling stake in an airplane leasing subsidiary of US insurer American International Group (AIG; AIG.NYSE) for US$4.23 billion, Bloomberg reported. A holding company backed by companies including New China Trust, China Aviation Industrial Fund and P3 Investments will buy 80.1% of AIG’s International Lease Finance plane-leasing unit. New China Life Insurance (601336.SH, 1336.HKG) and ICBC International Holdings may also take part in the transaction, if it receives regulatory approval and the group decides to exercise its contracted option to purchase an additional 9.9%, AIG said in a Tuesday statement. The deal is China’s biggest acquisition of a US firm and gives the group control of the world’s second-largest aircraft lessor, as travel in the nation increases, sparking demand for planes. The transaction is subject to US and Chinese regulatory approval.