First Gulf completes SPV aircraft finance deal

|By Arabian Post Staff| Leading UAE bank FGB has successfully concluded one of Abu Dhabi’s first Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) aircraft financing deals, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

The financing deals were part of ADGM’s innovative SPV regime, and were arranged to refinance two Etihad A380 aircraft bridge financings which were maturing in December 2016 and originally financed by FGB.

Natixis Leasing secured the bid for both aircrafts, one of which was subsequently part-financed by FGB under a USD 302 million lease finance structure. Acting as Advisor and Facilitator, FGB played an instrumental role in introducing the Natixis team to ADGM and is continuing to work with the financial centre to welcome further SPVs into the ADGM stable.

Steve Perry, Global Head of Debt Markets and Syndications at FGB, said that the successful conclusion of these first two aviation financing related SPVs under ADGM marked the

ADGM launched its SPV regime officially to the industry in January 2017. Designed to address the needs of the business community, ADGM SPV regime caters to a broad range of uses in various industry sectors including but not limited to corporates, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and individual investors. The SPVs have been deployed as a strategic tool for a variety of purposes including efficient corporate and financial structuring, risk management and ring-fencing of assets and liabilities.