Lease Corporation International (LCI), the helicopter lessor and aviation division of the Libra Group, has closed its inaugural $55 million capital markets term loan financing.
The private, senior secured tranches have a maturity of five years, and were offered to a range of US financial institutions. CIT Group and Prudential Capital Group, the private capital investment arm of PGIM, the $1 trillion global investment management businesses of Prudential Financial, jointly funded the financing.
LCI is using the proceeds from the financing to fund the continuing expansion of its fleet with the acquisition of six new Leonardo AW139 and AW169 helicopters. All of the aircraft have confirmed placements with lessees in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Search and Rescue (SAR) roles.
“LCI’s fast-growing helicopter leasing platform has now achieved the size for us to undertake our maiden capital markets placement,” says Jaspal Jandu, Chief Financial Officer of Lease Corporation International. “This transaction enables us to diversify our capital base and lower our cost of capital, further increasing the efficiency of our operations.”