Castlelake racks up $1.6bn for fourth aviation fund

Castlelake has closed its fourth aviation fund at about $1.6 billion. The fund’s limited partners include pensions, sovereign funds and endowments. Castlelake invests in real assets, specialty finance and aviation.

PRESS RELEASE

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Castlelake L.P. (“Castlelake”), a global alternative investment firm with 16 years of tenure investing in, financing and managing aviation assets, today announced that it completed the final closing of Castlelake Aviation IV Stable Yield L.P. and related fund Castlelake Aviation IV Stable Yield Opportunities, L.P. (collectively, “Castlelake Aviation IV” or “the Fund”), totaling approximately $1.6 billion in capital commitments. The Fund received investments from a diverse range of institutions including pensions, sovereign funds and endowments from around the world. These capital commitments included a mix of both repeat and first-time commitments.

“We are grateful for the warm reception the Fund received from diverse global institutions and believe that it reflects Castlelake’s decades of experience navigating aviation investments across cycles, including through the most recent disruption caused by COVID-19,” said Rory O’Neill, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Castlelake. “We believe the current aviation market provides many compelling opportunities in which our exceptional team will be able to deploy capital.”

The Fund will seek to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns by leveraging Castlelake’s differentiated aviation capabilities and dedicated team of more than 60 professionals to focus on investments in high quality, younger mid-life aircraft and related aviation assets. Castlelake Aviation IV has already deployed approximately $830 million across 13 transactions including 65 aircraft and multiple financings.
Castlelake Aviation IV is Castlelake’s fourth dedicated aviation fund and largest to-date. Since inception, Castlelake funds have invested more than $15 billion in aircraft and aviation assets, acquiring or managing more than 650 aircraft and 1,000 engines.

This investment activity has provided Castlelake with experience owning and managing nearly all commercial aircraft types with more than 175 airline relationships across more than 60 countries. Castlelake is also one of the largest issuers of aircraft ABS in the market, having raised more than $6 billion of aircraft secured debt since 2014.

About Castlelake, L.P.
Castlelake, L.P. is a global alternative investment manager focused on investments in real assets, specialty finance and aviation. Founded in 2005, Castlelake manages approximately $21 billion of assets on behalf of its investors. The Castlelake team comprises more than 200 experienced professionals, including 89 investment professionals, across six offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.castlelake.com.