Air Lease has launched its first asset-backed securities deal, $345 million Thunderbolt, according to sources familiar with the deal.
The deal consists of three tranches: $253.4 million A class notes, $69.3 million B class notes and $22 million C class notes. The securitisation will finance 19 mid-life aircraft.
FlightGlobal understands that the Waterfall Asset Management, Candlewood Investment Group and ITE will purchase the equity. Waterfall is understood to have been one of the E-note investors in $410 million FLCON 2017-1 which closed earlier this year.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is global coordinator and joint structurers with Mizuho. Both banks are also joint bookrunners along with BNP Paribas, while Citi is providing the liquidity facility.
Last November, Blackbird - the joint venture between Air Lease and Napier Park - closed a $800 million benchmark securitisation. The deal achieved the lowest pricing of a post-financial crisis ABS up to that point and also introduced new investors to a thin market with the addition of structural enhancements to the ABS product and an AA tranche.
This story has been corrected to reflect the total deal size is $345 million not $335 million as well as the the B notes are $69.3 million not $59.3 million.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
