Lessor Milestone Aviation Group has signed an agreement to sell a 12-helicopter portfolio to Macquarie Rotorcraft.

The 12-helicopter portfolio consists of a mix of Sikorsky S-92, Airbus H135, Bell 412 and Leonardo AW109, AW139 and AW189 helicopters that are currently on lease to six customers in nine countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and southeast Asia. The aircraft are currently deployed across a wide variety of missions including offshore energy, EMS and police services.

“Unlike the fixed-wing market, portfolio sales have not been as prevalent in helicopter leasing. This transaction between the two leading owners of leased rotorcraft is another example of the growing maturity of the helicopter leasing sector and reinforces the strong liquidity that we are seeing,” says Pat Sheedy, CEO of Milestone Aviation. “The ability to trade on lease assets is a critical part of portfolio management for lessors of scale, and we are pleased to partner with such a strong industry player as Macquarie Rotorcraft and to work together to execute what is a sizeable portfolio transaction.”

“We are excited to partner with Milestone on this important transaction. Acquiring these assets expands our ability to meet the growing needs of our customers and demonstrates the increasing sophistication of the helicopter finance market,” adds John Petkovic, CEO of Macquarie Rotorcraft.