Has Aviation Capital Group completed its exit from the securitization market?
The aircraft lessor, a wholly owned unit of Pacific Life Insurance Co., said today it has redeemed $1.86 billion of asset-backed securities issued in 2005.
In December, the company pulled a $671.9 million securitization that it had started marketing two months earlier, in October. While the deal undoubtedly encountered some turbulence, another sponsor, CastleLake LP, went ahead with a $529 million deal launched around the same time.
Aviation Capital first tapped the securitization market in 2000, raising $687 million from 30 institutional investors, according to information posted on the company’s website. In 2003, it completed another pooled aircraft securitization for $1 billion. The 2005 transaction that it just redeemed was its third and largest.
The company has a portfolio of over 390 owned, managed and committed aircraft leased to approximately 100 airlines in over 45 countries. It also has other means to finance its holdings, including $1.165 billion of revolving lines of credit from 21 banks globally. And in September it issued $900 million of general obligation corporate bonds, consisting of $600 million 2.875% three-year notes and $300 million of 4.875% 10-year notes.
“We are very pleased to be redeeming all the notes in full and unencumbering a substantial pool of assets. This continues the company’s record of significant accomplishments in transforming our capital structure while strengthening and improving the flexibility of our balance sheet,” said Madhu Vijay, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Aviation Capital, said in a press release.
