Air Lease Corporation (ALC) has closed a $966.5million unsecured three year term loan, which has been syndicated to a diverse group of lenders based in Asia.
The term loan was arranged by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (New York branch), which acted as structuring agent and facility agent as well as joint global coordinator with Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCB). SuMi Trust and OCB were mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners with Bank of China, Bank of East Asia, and Cathay United Bank. The banks were advised by K&L Gates, while O’Melveny & Myers acted as counsel for ALC.
The transaction attracted a very diverse pool of banks - more than 30 lenders of record – from several jurisdictions spanning four continents, many of which were new relationships for ALC and many new to the aviation sector in general.
ALC is well known for its efforts to diversify its sources of funding and the team was eager to target the Asian market in particular. “This was a conscious and gradual approach to targeting the Asian market,” says Ritch Vilas Boas, Senior Director, Head of Asset Finance Americas at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. “We saw in ALC’s unsecured term loan that closed in 2023 where we raised $555 million that there were additional pockets of liquidity that we could tap into. ALC conducted a roadshow in May in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo to introduce the ALC name and get to know more investors. This slow and deliberate approach allowed the company to engage with the right counterparties and onboard over 30 lenders.”
The transaction pursued greater diversification for ALC but not at the expense of margin. The deal is reported to have been very competitively priced.
“We are pleased to announce the successful closing of this $966.5 million unsecured term loan facility supported by a syndicate of global banking partners,” said Gregory B. Willis, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Air Lease Corporation. “The transaction provides a diversified source of financing for Air Lease and further reflects the depth of our banking relationships. We thank our lenders for their support.”