Japan's Sumitomo unit to buy Macquarie's helicopter leasing arm

(Reuters) -Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing (SMFL) said on Monday its joint venture will acquire Macquarie Rotorcraft, the UK-based helicopter leasing business of financial giant Macquarie's asset management arm.

SMFL LCI Helicopters, SMFL's helicopter-leasing joint venture with LCI Investment, will buy the Macquarie unit which has a fleet of about 120 leased aircraft.

The companies plan to expand the aircraft fleet to about 310, with LCI Investment, the aerospace unit of Libra Group, at the helm of the combined business.

The Nikkei had reported the deal earlier in the day, valuing it at slightly over $1 billion.

The unit of Japan's Sumitomo Corp did not provide financial details in the statement.

Sumitomo and Macquarie did not immediately respond to requests for clarification.

Libra, which was founded in 2003, has completed over $15 billion of transport transactions through its aviation and maritime businesses and is a leading player in aviation leasing via its LCI unit.

(Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)