Cheung Kong will reportedly take to sky with $5b deal

Billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd is considering a bid for aircraft being sold by private equity firm Terra Firma-owned lessor AWAS Aviation Capital Ltd, in a deal sources said could be worth about $5 billion.

A successful bid by Li would mark the entry of Asia's richest man into a sector that is attracting long-term global investors such as insurers and pension funds hungry for better returns while interest rates remain low.

AWAS, the aircraft leasing company owned by the British private equity firm, is in talks with potential bidders to sell a portfolio of about 100 newer aircraft, Reuters reported last week.