JFL Credit Partners with Powerhouse Engines to Launch Engine Investment Program

JFL Credit Opportunities, LLC (JFL Credit), a credit manager focused on the aerospace, defense, government, maritime, environmental and infrastructure sectors, announced on September 1, 2026 that it has partnered with Powerhouse Engines to establish an engine investment program. Investment affiliates of JFL Credit will provide capital to support Powerhouse Engines' acquisition of commercial aircraft engines as the company expands into engine trading and aftermarket parts.

Powerhouse Engines, headquartered in Miami, Florida, is an aviation services platform specializing in the leasing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of CFM56 commercial aircraft engines, serving airlines and lessors. Lionel Jolivot, Partner and co-Head of JFL Credit, said "Powerhouse has built a differentiated platform in the CFM56 market, and its customers consistently point to the same things: high-quality work, fast turnaround times and a creative, solutions-oriented approach to complex technical problems." Sandra Wong, a JFL Credit Vice President, said the company's established leasing and MRO capabilities provide a compelling foundation for its expansion into engine trading and aftermarket parts. Eric Engdahl, Chief Executive Officer of Powerhouse Engines, said the capital will allow the company to pursue engine acquisition opportunities and build out its engine trading and aftermarket parts capabilities while leveraging the technical expertise developed across its leasing and MRO operations.

JFL Credit's parent firm, J.F. Lehman & Company, was founded in 1992 and manages over $9 billion in assets under management across private equity and credit strategies, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

This transaction belongs to a broader movement of private credit capital into narrowbody engine aftermarket support, where MRO providers with technical track records use that expertise as the basis for expanding into engine ownership and trading. CFM56-focused platforms like Powerhouse Engines sit at a point in the market where a large in-service fleet still needs shop visits and spare engines, giving lessors and MRO shops an incentive to hold and trade assets rather than simply servicing them for others.

How this segment functions depends on the credit partner's willingness to fund engine purchases against a servicer's operational reputation, effectively turning turnaround speed and technical problem-solving into collateral for capital deployment. JFL Credit's read on Powerhouse rests explicitly on customer feedback about quality and speed, suggesting the financing decision followed operational diligence rather than balance-sheet metrics alone.

What comes into view next is how quickly Powerhouse converts this capital into actual engine acquisitions and whether its trading and parts operations scale at a pace comparable to its established leasing and MRO business.