19 Mar 2015 12:30
Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has completed a Korean Finance Lease for its second new Airbus A380 aircraft.
The funding was provided by
way of a private placement with a group of major Korean institutional investors
and was arranged by London-based aviation
finance specialists Magi Partners in conjunction with their
Korean associates, Youjee Partners. The deal follows non-deal roadshow meetings
between Etihad Airways and Korean investors in early 2014, and a competitive
global request for proposals last summer.
The transaction, which is
structured as a 15-year, fixed coupon full-payout finance lease, is the first
ever Korean financing to be arranged covering the entire cost of a brand new
A380 aircraft.
The
aircraft is the second of a fleet of ten A380s on order from Etihad Airways to
enter service and, like all the airline’s A380s, features The Residence by Etihad™.*
Since inception Etihad
Airways has raised more than US$10.5 billion from over 70 financial
institutions and lessors to fund its fleet of aircraft and engines.
James Hogan, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: “We are delighted to have
engaged so positively with Korean investors, thereby securing strong interest
from Korean institutions in the course of our first entry into the Korean
market, which we see as a potentially fruitful longer term partnership for us
in the future.”
Peter Vardigans of Magi Partners, said: “This
financing is a landmark deal for the Korean market and we are delighted to have
been able to complete this transaction for such a prestigious airline as Etihad
Airways. We anticipate that Korean institutions
will provide a growing strategic source of capital for the global aviation
market. “