SKY Leasing Closes Inaugural Structured Aircraft Portfolio Transaction

Dublin, Ireland, August 23, 2017 (Newswire.com) - SKY Aviation Leasing International Limited (“SKY”), a full-service aircraft leasing company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, announced the closing of an issuance of $780.8 million of secured notes (the “Notes”) by S-JETS 2017-1 Limited (“S-JETS”). S-JETS expects to use a portion of the proceeds of the Notes to acquire a portfolio of 21 Airbus and Boeing aircraft worth approximately $1 billion. On lease to airline customers worldwide, the aircraft have a weighted average age of 3.4 years and a weighted average remaining lease term of 7.5 years. The portfolio includes eight different aircraft models and 18 of the 21 aircraft are narrowbodies. SKY will act as servicer for the aircraft portfolio.

The offering consisted of three series of Notes: $657.8 million Series A Notes with an effective yield of 4.000%, $81.0 million of Series B Notes with an effective yield of 5.750%, and $42.0 million of Series C Notes with an effective yield of 7.125%. The Series A Notes have an initial loan-to-value (“LTV”) of 66.3% and were rated A by Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) and Kroll Bond Rating Agency (“KBRA”); the Series B Notes have an initial LTV of 74.5% and were rated BBB by S&P and KBRA; and the Series C Notes have an initial LTV of 78.7% and were rated BB by S&P and KBRA. Both the Series A Notes and Series B Notes have an initial expected maturity of 8.0 years and initial expected weighted average life of 4.6 years while the Series C Notes have an initial expected maturity of 7.7 years and initial expected weighted average life of 3.4 years. An affiliate of SKY acquired the E Certificates of S-JETS.

“We are pleased that our S-JETS portfolio attracted a diverse, global group of investors,” said SKY President Austin Wiley. “We view structured aircraft portfolio financing not only as a core funding tool to drive our growth strategy but also as a critical initiative to broaden our capital markets relationships.”

SKY expects to refinance its existing warehouse debt financing facility with proceeds from the S-JETS transaction and a new warehouse debt financing facility worth over $750 million.

The Notes have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and were offered only to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or pursuant to an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

This press release shall not constitute an offer of the Notes to the public in any member state of the European Economic Area.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes, nor will there be any sale of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. 

About SKY Leasing

SKY Leasing (https://www.skyleasing.com) is a premier aircraft leasing group with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and a regional office in San Francisco, California. As a full-service leasing platform, SKY Leasing leverages its experience, global networks, industry insights, and managerial talent to acquire and lease new and young mid-life aircraft.

Originating aircraft transactions valued at over $1.1 billion during 2017 to date, SKY has continued to focus on providing capital to its airline customers.

As of July 2017, SKY Leasing had a portfolio of 38 aircraft under ownership or definitive documentation to be acquired worth over $2.0 billion on lease to 21 airline customers globally.

For more information, please contact [email protected].

Source: Sky Aviation Leasing International Limited