Investec Aviation closes junior debt deal with Ethiopian airlines

First AFIC Financing for Ethiopian Airlines

ING Capital LLC (“ING”) and Societe Generale executed a USD 230 million 12-year senior loan facility to finance Ethiopian Airlines Group (Ethiopian Airlines) first five Boeing 737-8 aircraft. The senior loan facility is structured with Aircraft Non-Payment Insurance (ANPI) cover under the Aircraft Finance Insurance Consortium (AFIC) program, and represents Ethiopian Airlines’ first AFIC transaction. Investec Bank Limited (Investec) executed a USD 25 million 7-year junior loan facility for the same aircraft. The senior and junior loan facilities successfully closed, with the delivery of the first aircraft (MSN 62446) to Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday June 30, 2018. The remaining four aircraft are scheduled to deliver between July and October.

ING’s Structured Export Finance team, based in New York, and Societe Generale’s Aviation Finance team, based in Paris, are joint lead arrangers and lenders for the senior loan facility, with ING acting as senior loan agent. Investec’s Aviation Finance team, based in Johannesburg, is lead arranger and agent for the junior loan facility and acted together with Investec Asset Management as lenders.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman represented Ethiopian Airlines, Milbank in New York represented the AFIC insurers, White & Case in New York represented ING and Societe Generale, and Vedder Price in New York represented Investec.