Aircraft financing: Emirates secures $413.7m US Ex-Im Bank public bond guarantee

Emirates airline has     announced successful pricing of its inaugural US bond offering guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank (Exim bank) of the United States related to a loan facility secured for three new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

The transaction is in the amount of $413.7m with a fixed rate coupon of 3.465% per annum, and the secured notes are due August 21, 2021 and are payable in instalments of principal and interest on a quarterly basis.

“This transaction is very important for the industry as it represents the first offering of its kind directly into the global public capital markets.
“We believe bond markets represent an important source of capital for the airline industry in general and for Emirates in particular.

“Emirates is constantly in search of innovative structures and alternative sources of financing for our aircraft acquisition programme and this structure will go a long way in bridging the funding gap which is evidently present in these difficult market conditions.

“We are very pleased to be the first airline to complete this innovative product and we would like to pay special tribute to the long term vision of Ex_Im Bank and to the structuring and execution expertise of our arrangers Calyon and Goldman Sachs. This could not have come at a better time for the airline industry,”said Brian Jeffery, Senior Vice President, Corporate Treasury at Emirates.