Dubai, U.A.E., and New York, U.S.A.,July 2026 – Dubai Aerospace Enterprise DAE Ltd “DAE”, the global aviation services corporation, and Neuberger Specialty Finance today announced an agreement to launch Mustang Aerospace “Mustang”, a new aircraft leasing co-investment vehicle.
Mustang will enable both DAE and Neuberger Specialty Finance managed funds to acquire a diverse fleet of aircraft and support the fleet needs of airlines worldwide. It will deploy capital steadily over a long-term period to build Mustang into an entity of significant size and heft. DAE’s four-decade track record in aircraft leasing and disciplined asset management aligns closely with Neuberger Specialty Finance’s focus on asset-based investments that seek to offer downside protection, durable cash flows and shorter-duration characteristics. Mustang will target to invest approximately US$6 billion in aircraft assets over the medium-term across multiple vehicles.
Headquartered in Dubai, DAE is a seasoned aircraft asset manager and serves over 200 airline customers in over 80 countries from six office locations in Dubai, Dublin, Amman, Singapore, Miami, and Seattle. DAE’s approximately 700 aircraft fleet, including more than 100 aircraft under management, is valued at US$25 billion as of March 31, 2026. Through its Aircraft Investor Services (AIS) group, DAE acts as servicer in seventeen servicing and management agreements for institutional and financial investors, including seven structured aircraft portfolio transactions.
Neuberger Specialty Finance is the Asset Based Finance arm of Neuberger, a private, independent, and employee-owned investment manager, which manages US$567 billion of equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and hedge fund portfolios for global institutions, advisors and individuals. Neuberger Specialty Finance manages over US$5 billion across 50+ portfolio companies and various investment vehicles since the strategy’s inception in 2018. The group is led by Peter Sterling and has cumulatively invested more than US$16 billion through 80 global origination partners, from commercial banks to fintechs, across thousands of underlying loans.
Commenting on the announcement, Firoz Tarapore, Chief Executive Officer of DAE, said, “Sean Hinze led our original co-investor relationship dating back to 2017; collaborating with him at Neuberger will allow us to expand our offering at greater scale to our airline customers around the world and support our ambition to continue growing our AIS offering. We look forward to deploying our industry-leading franchise in search of opportunistic investments on behalf of Neuberger Specialty Finance and the funds it manages.”
Sean Hinze, Managing Director at Neuberger Specialty Finance, added, “Launching Mustang with DAE is an exciting opportunity to reignite our partnership and expand it into a scaled, durable franchise within Neuberger’s Asset Based Finance platform. We’re thrilled to combine DAE’s world‑class aircraft management capabilities with our flexible capital and structuring expertise to build a long‑term leasing franchise that can serve airline customers globally.”
Concurrently, Mustang announced today that it has signed an agreement with Goldman Sachs, Mizuho, BNP Paribas, MUFG, Société Générale, and Truist to provide committed warehouse financing to support the growth of the co-investment vehicle.
About DAE:
Dubai Aerospace Enterprise DAE Ltd is a globally recognized aviation services corporation with two divisions: DAE Capital and DAE Engineering. Headquartered in Dubai, DAE serves over 200 airline customers in over 80 countries from six office locations in Dubai, Dublin, Amman, Singapore, Miami, and Seattle.
DAE Capital is an award-winning aircraft lessor with an owned, managed, and committed fleet of approximately 700 Airbus, ATR, and Boeing aircraft, with a fleet value of US$25 billion. DAE Engineering provides regional MRO services to customers in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and South Asia from its state-of-the-art facility in Amman, Jordan, accommodating up to 24 wide and narrow body aircraft. It is authorized to work on 16 aircraft types and has regulatory approval from over 30 regulators globally.
About Neuberger Private Markets:
Neuberger Private Markets is a division of Neuberger and has been an active and successful private markets investor since 1987. Neuberger Private Markets invests across strategies, asset classes, and geographies for a large number of sophisticated and renowned institutions and individuals globally. As of December 31, 2025, Neuberger Private Markets manages over US$155 billion of investor commitments across primaries, co-investments, secondaries, private credit, and specialty strategies. Neuberger Private Markets has an experienced and diverse team of over 500 professionals with a global presence in 17 offices globally.
