On October 18, 2002, Canada’s WestJet Airlines Ltd. closed a US$478 million aircraft financing for the delivery of 15 Boeing 737-700 Next-Generation passenger aircraft. The first Boeing 737 aircraft was delivered on October 21, 2002, and the additional 14 aircraft are scheduled for delivery by year-end 2003. Financing arrangements were handled by ING Group’s wholesale division. ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin.
The financing, arranged by ING’s New York-based structured export finance group, is structured as a series of loans guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), to finance approximately 85 per cent of the net purchase price of the aircraft. ING Capital LLC in New York was the sole arranger of the Ex-Im Bank-guaranteed loan.
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP represented WestJet, with a team led by G. Dino Deluca and included Ian Bock (tax) and Michael Martin (commercial). Helfried Schwarz of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP in New York represented ING, the lender. Robert Wray of Holland & Knight LLP in Washington represented
Ex-Im Bank.
The financing, arranged by ING’s New York-based structured export finance group, is structured as a series of loans guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), to finance approximately 85 per cent of the net purchase price of the aircraft. ING Capital LLC in New York was the sole arranger of the Ex-Im Bank-guaranteed loan.
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP represented WestJet, with a team led by G. Dino Deluca and included Ian Bock (tax) and Michael Martin (commercial). Helfried Schwarz of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP in New York represented ING, the lender. Robert Wray of Holland & Knight LLP in Washington represented
Ex-Im Bank.
Lawyer(s)
G. Dino DeLuca
Helfried Schwarz
Michael G. Martin
Firm(s)
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
Holland & Knight LLP