China’s AVIC Capital says cancels plan to acquire Avolon-Reuters

BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) – China’s AVIC Capital Co Ltd said on Monday it has cancelled a plan to acquire Avolon Holdings Ltd after the Irish aircraft leasing firm’s board and shareholders rejected the proposed price, confirming an earlier Reuters story.

In a brief stock exchange filing, AVIC Capital, a Chinese state-owned aerospace and defense company, did not specify its proposed price to take over Avolon or the counter proposal by the shareholders of the takeover target.

It is not the first time that Chinese interest in an aircraft leasing firm failed to produce a deal. A Chinese consortium made an unsuccessful bid in 2012 to buy aircraft lessor International Lease Finance Corp from U.S. insurer American International Group Inc.

That proposal fell apart and AIG ended up selling ILFC to AerCap Holdings NV .

Sources told Reuters in October that the unsuccessful talks with AVIC Capital and China’s sovereign wealth fund CIC made an initial public offering the most realistic alternative for Avolon’s private equity owners to cash out on their investment.