ADGM Headquartered Sirius Closes First Bank Facility With Deutsche Bank To Finance 5 Aircraft

Sirius Aviation Capital Holdings Limited (“Sirius”), a global aircraft lessor headquartered in Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”), today announced that one of its joint venture entities had closed its first bank facility with Deutsche Bank to refinance the acquisition of five (5) single-aisle aircraft which it had acquired in 2020.

The five aircraft are on operating leases to three different carriers: three Boeing 737 NG’s with Southwest (US), one A320 with Spirit (US) and one A320 with Etihad (UAE).

Sirius’ share of this joint venture was funded via its commitment from its anchor investor, Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners (“ADCP”). ADCP is a joint venture between Mubadala Investment Company P.J.S.C. (a sovereign investor owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi) and Falcon Edge (a US investment company).

Sirius commenced operations in ADGM in March 2020 and in less than 18 months has grown its fleet to 12 aircraft. Over the next three years it plans to grow its fleet to 100 aircraft.

Kieran Ryan, Chief Financial Officer of Sirius commenting on the transaction and the growth of the business at ADGM said;

“We are pleased to have executed our first facility with Deutsche Bank, as establishing this banking relationship is a significant milestone for the business. The successful conclusion of this debt transaction is both an endorsement of the underlying strength of the market for mid-life aircraft, and Sirius’s business strategy of leasing to top tier operators of these aircraft.

Closing our first bank facility, despite the turbulence in the aviation industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, further enhances the reputation of ADGM as a platform, not only to launch an international business, but also to financing transactions with global banks like Deutsche Bank. We would also like to acknowledge the outstanding support provided by the ADGM team, which has been fundamental to the development and growth of Sirius as a global aircraft lessor based in ADGM. It is further endorsement of ADGM being the “location of choice” for high-growth companies that want to establish a footprint in the region and develop relationships with global financial institutions.

We also want to recognize and thank our anchor investor, Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners (“ADCP”), for their outstanding support and excellent counsel to the Sirius team, as we grow our business in ADGM.

Looking forward, we have a strong pipeline of attractive investment opportunities which we will deliver on in the coming months. We anticipate that air traffic volumes will continue to rise as vaccines are rolled out globally, and we plan to take advantage of this recovery to double our fleet to 25 aircraft in the next 12 months, and to over 100 in the next three years. We also will continue to work closely with our investors, shareholders, and the ADGM team to deliver these ambitious targets.”