NEW YORK (JUNE 6, 2022) — Alton Aviation Consultancy recently advised two ad-hoc groups of secured creditors on the $6 billion debt restructuring of Nordic Aviation Capital DAC (NAC), the largest global lessor of regional aircraft. The restructuring was implemented through a pre-arranged Chapter 11 process in the US Bankruptcy Court.

Alongside other legal and financial advisors, the group of creditors advised by Alton, with assets valued well in excess of US$1 billion, included BNP, Deutsche Bank, Development Bank of Japan, Export Development Canada, Investec, JP Morgan, Korea Development Bank, MUFG, New York Life, and Silver Point Capital together with other lenders under syndicated facilities.

The secured financings included direct loans, finance leases, JOLCO financings and Export Credit supported financings, and were associated with a fleet of 190 regional jet and turboprop aircraft.

At the conclusion of the restructuring, some aircraft remained within the NAC group on restructured terms while other aircraft transitioned to the control of creditor groups who elected to exit from the NAC business.

The scope of Alton’s mandate was broad and included but was not limited to:

  • Independently assessing the lessee credits, leases, and assets of the aircraft and leases that formed collateral for the lenders
  • Performing grounded cash flow forecasts and valuations of the aircraft
  • Evaluating the new management team’s business plan and strategy
  • Advising clients on the merits of equitizing or exiting
  • Remarketing seventeen aircraft across two JOLCO financed silos
  • Working on multiple negotiations, amendments and new financing structures
  • Identifying, soliciting bids, and negotiating terms from alternative servicers and corporate service providers for exiting silos
  • Supporting the transitioning of aircraft to new servicers

Alton’s Dublin-based Managing Director, Leah Ryan, commented: “There has been no precedent US Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring for an aircraft lessor of the same scale or complexity as that of Nordic Aviation Capital. We were pleased to have had the opportunity to support our clients in preserving value and securing the best outcomes possible through a challenging restructuring in a challenging market environment.”

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