TrueNoord, the specialist regional aircraft lessor, has completed a sale agreement for eight Embraer E190s and two E175s with Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC). This significant transaction increases TrueNoord’s portfolio to 70 aircraft and brings new lessee airlines from North America, Canada and South Africa into the family, as well as increasing TrueNoord’s footprint with existing European airline customers in France and Portugal.
The complete integration of all ten Embraer jets is targeted to be finalised in Q1 2023.
The transaction will be financed by TrueNoord’s current warehouse facility provided by Citibank, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking, Royal Bank of Canada, and NordLB. This funds new acquisitions and supports TrueNoord’s targeted growth strategy in the 50- to 150-seat market segment, which is endorsed by cornerstone investors: Freshstream, BlackRock, abrdn, and others. Legal advisers Pillsbury acted on behalf of TrueNoord.
With this sizeable transaction, TrueNoord is demonstrating solid confidence in the value proposition that regional aircraft are offering and in a recovery of the market in the coming years. This is underscored by the relative ease of transitioning aircraft that come off-lease and according to Anne-Bart Tieleman, CEO-TrueNoord, it is a positive trend and the first portfolio deal in the market since COVID-19.
