Udvar-Hazy May Buy Company Back From A.I.G.

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Steven Udvar-Hazy, the chairman of American International Group Inc.’s highly successful aircraft-leasing unit, is expected to lead an effort to buy back the company that he founded 35 years ago, according to people familiar with the situation.

Fearing a financial crisis worldwide, the Federal Reserve reversed course on Tuesday and agreed to an $85 billion bailout that would give the government control of the troubled insurance giant American International Group.

t is unclear whether Mr. Udvar-Hazy will be successful or who the investors might be, but much is riding on whether the 62-year-old entrepreneur can pull it off. With more than $17 billion worth of orders on its books, the firm, commonly referred to as ILFC, is the single largest buyer of new jetliners for both Boeing Co. and Europe’s Airbus. In addition, the company has played the role of white knight a number of times in recent years, providing capital to troubled airlines.

With a fleet of more than 1,000 jetliners on lease to airlines world-wide, ILFC is among the insurance company’s most valuable noncore assets. The fleet is valued at roughly $55 billion, and ILFC has continued to post double-digit increases in revenue and profits even while its parent has struggled.




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