Market players were eager to see a new traditional private deal cross their desks as they were combing through the pages of a brand new asset-backed offering from aircraft engine manufacturing giant Rolls Royce last week, according to sources.
Greenwich NatWest is agenting the transaction.
While the details of the transaction were still unclear last week, a number of market players described it as heavily structured. One source described it as a first of it's kind transaction.
"It's definitely got a unique structure," commented one buyer. The notes are backed by Rolls-Royce aircraft engines.
"The type of stuff we usually do is lease-backed paper," the source said, comparing the transaction to other aircraft related financings such as EETC structured deals.
Price talk was said to fall in the 210 to 225 basis points over Treasurys range.
There was also some concern over the company's credit, said one investor, who was not sure whether the deal rating would fall in the NAIC-1 or NAIC-2 range. "It should be a [NAIC-1]," the source said.
"If it's an NAIC-1 that price sounds about right," the source added.
Rolls Royce expects global demand for aircraft engines to be around 48,100 units worth $337 billion between 2000 and 2019 according to a recent report issued by the company.
Rolls-Royce is based in the U.K. and is the second largest aircraft engine maker in the world behind U.S.-based General Electric Co. It makes products for military and commercial gas turbine engines for airlines, armed forces, corporate and executiveaircraft operators.
It reported sales of $7.5 billion and net income of $428 million in 1998.
