NEW YORK (February 10, 2020) – Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigns preliminary ratings to three series of notes (the “Notes”) issued by Sunbird Engine Finance Limited and Sunbird Engine Finance LLC (together, “Sunbird 2020-1” or the “Issuers”).
The transaction represents Total Engine Asset Management Pte. Ltd.’s (“TEAM”, the “Servicer”, or the “Company”) inaugural securitization. TEAM was established in 2011 as a 50/50 joint venture, between ST Engineering and Marubeni Corporation (“Marubeni”), with its corporate head office in Singapore and a marketing office in Tokyo. KBRA notes that the initial owners of the equity will be TEAM (at least 10%), an affiliate of Marubeni (at least 40%) and the balance to one or more third parties.
Proceeds from the sale of the Notes will be used to acquire 30 commercial jet aircraft engines (the “Portfolio”) on lease, or subject to a letter of intent to be leased, to 13 lessees located in 11 jurisdictions. As of January 31, 2020, the initial weighted average remaining lease term is approximately 5.9 years / 71 months. The composition of the Portfolio consists of 29 engines powering narrowbody host aircraft (91.0% by value) and one engine powering widebody host aircraft (9.0% by value). The Portfolio has an initial value of approximately $305.9 million, based on the average of the half-life base values provided by three appraisers as of the fourth quarter of 2019 and adjusted for maintenance conditions as determined by Alton Aviation Consultancy LLC (“Alton”) as of January 31, 2020.
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