ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that it has signed an agreement with IBERIA LÍNEAS AÉREAS DE ESPAÑA, S.A. Operadora, Sociedad Unipersonal (headquartered in Madrid, Spain; Marco Sansavini, CEO; hereinafter "IBERIA") to acquire a minority stake in IAG Engine Tech, S.L. (headquartered in Madrid, Spain; Max Schramm, CEO; hereinafter "IET"), a new engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company established in Madrid in 2026 by IBERIA, a member of International Airlines Group (headquartered in London, United Kingdom; Luis Gallego, CEO; hereinafter "IAG"). The transaction marks ITOCHU’s first entry into the narrow-body aircraft* engine MRO market — a segment expected to see continued growth — and will further expand ITOCHU’s presence across the aircraft value chain.

IAG Engine Tech will serve the narrow-body engine maintenance needs of IAG airlines while developing a strong international third-party customer business. The company builds on more than 50 years of engine maintenance expertise and established capabilities developed by Iberia Maintenance in Madrid, including the V2500, CFM56 and PW1100G-JM (GTF) engine families. From early 2027, IAG Engine Tech will expand its operations into LEAP engine MRO under the CFM LEAP Premier MRO license secured by IAG, marking a significant step into the fast-growing next-generation engine market and supporting its ambition to establish itself among the world’s leading engine MRO providers.

In recent years, operators worldwide are accelerating the introduction of narrow-body aircraft to meet rising demand on short- and medium-haul routes, and demand for MRO of the LEAP and GTF engines powering the new generation of narrow-body aircraft introduced since 2016 is set to rise sharply, overtaking demand for conventional-engine MRO by around 2030.

Through years of aircraft leasing transactions, ITOCHU has built a strong relationship of trust with IAG and IBERIA, and this investment marks the natural evolution of that relationship into a strategic alliance from which all parties stand to benefit. It also reflects ITOCHU’s commitment to the modernization of civil aviation: this new generation of narrow-body engines has been a commercial success, prized in part for its fuel efficiency, and as it enters wider service, demand for high-quality maintenance will keep growing — an opportunity IET is well positioned to capture. For ITOCHU, this is a natural strategic step, building on the expertise and customer network it has developed in aircraft leasing and the aircraft- and engine-related aftermarket business to help IET achieve global growth.

Under its management policy, "The Brand-new Deal – Profit Opportunities Are Shifting Downstream," ITOCHU is expanding its business with a focus on downstream sectors and increasing its investment in growth areas. ITOCHU will use this investment as an opportunity to enter a new domain within the aircraft value chain, strengthen its business foundation, and expand its global commercial aircraft business.