Crestone Air Partners Launches Blue Crest Aviation Partners with funds managed by Blue Owl
DENVER, Aug. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crestone Air Partners ("Crestone") today announced the formation of Blue Crest Aviation Partners ("Blue Crest"), a new joint venture anchored by funds managed by Blue Owl Capital, Inc. ("Blue Owl"). The platform will seek to acquire mid-life commercial jet aircraft on lease to airlines globally, through a disciplined, income-oriented strategy.
Crestone is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air T, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIRT) and benefits from Air T's integrated operating platform—spanning MRO, parts sales, storage, disassembly, and leasing services—to support mature-phase aircraft management.
Blue Crest represents the next stage of Crestone's capital formation, following the successful deployment of Contrail JV II and affiliated sidecar vehicles. Since 2020, Crestone and Blue Owl's Alternative Credit funds have jointly invested hundreds of millions of dollars in aviation assets.
"Blue Crest Aviation Partners represents the next step of scaling for our platform," said Kevin Milligan, CEO of Crestone Air Partners. "We're proud to continue building with Blue Owl's funds and deepen our alignment through a dedicated vehicle targeting opportunities in the mid-life aviation market."
"This joint venture builds on years of successful partnership between Blue Owl's Alternative Credit funds and Crestone," said Ivan Zinn, Head of Alternative Credit at Blue Owl. "We're excited to continue supporting the platform with a further investment of strategic capital."
KPMG LLP served as tax advisor on the transaction. Legal counsel was provided by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Phoenix American Financial Services, Inc. will act as the third-party administrator.
About Crestone Air Partners
Crestone Air Partners, Inc. (CAP) invests in commercial jet aircraft and the engines that power them on behalf of our capital partners. We are a full-service aviation asset management platform with a diverse portfolio of aircraft and engines leased to airlines globally. We target transactions in the secondary market, focusing on the last decade of the asset lifecycle. We take a collaborative approach with our clients by offering flexible lease terms tailored to our customers' requirements. Crestone brings unique value to transactions by drawing on the expertise and capabilities of interrelated aviation specialist subsidiary businesses across the Air T family (airframe material sales, landing gear leasing, engine material sales, disassembly, and aircraft storage). Crestone is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and is a wholly owned business unit of Air T, Inc. holding company (NASDAQ:AIRT). Additional information can be found at: www.crestoneairpartners.com.
About Blue Owl Capital
Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL) is a leading asset manager that is redefining alternatives®. With over $284 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025, we invest across three multi-strategy platforms: Credit, Real Assets and GP Strategic Capital. Anchored by a strong permanent capital base, we provide businesses with private capital solutions to drive long-term growth and offer institutional investors, individual investors, and insurance companies differentiated alternative investment opportunities that aim to deliver strong performance, risk-adjusted returns, and capital preservation.
Together with approximately 1,300 experienced professionals globally, Blue Owl brings the vision and discipline to create the exceptional. To learn more, visit www.blueowl.com.
Media Contacts
Crestone Air Partners, Inc.
Tori Cerda
Director, Marketing & Operations
[email protected]
