TrueNoord has successfully closed a new five-year Term Loan of US$275 million (£220 million). The facility will be used by the specialist regional aircraft lessor to expand its existing group of aircraft assets and to finance a well-diversified portfolio of 31 owned regional jet and turboprop aircraft currently on lease to 13 different airline customers based in 11 countries.
The Term Loan was arranged by Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC, as sole structuring agent and lead placement agent; Citigroup Global Markets Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, and SG Americas Securities, LLC, as joint placement agents; and MUFG Bank, Ltd., and BayernLB as mandated lead arrangers. The lender group is comprised of MUFG Bank, Ltd., BayernLB, Cathay United Bank, Absa Corporate & Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., and Umpqua Bank. The Term Loan will facilitate further business development and supports TrueNoord’s targeted growth strategy which is endorsed by cornerstone investors: Freshstream, BlackRock, abrdn and others. Legal advisers Clifford Chance acted on behalf of TrueNoord, Milbank represented the banks.
“With the successful closing of this secured long-term financing TrueNoord has been able to further increase its group of relationship banks supporting the continued growth of the business. We have broadened our financing resources and the facility gives us the ability to aim for further market opportunities, like portfolio transactions for new and used aircraft” comments Anne-Bart Tieleman, CEO. “We work closely with our customers, offering a range of lease options to support their business growth ambitions. Strengthening our position with additional funds sends a positive signal to all our partners.”
Tieleman comments on the continued investor confidence this transaction demonstrates. “We are proud that the finance community sees TrueNoord as a secure and credible investment partner. We have a solid track record, a quality portfolio of aircraft and lessees, and a balanced growth plan. It is extremely rewarding for our team to develop our relationships with the banks involved in this Term Loan and we thank all parties for their hard work and professionalism in successfully concluding this transaction.”
TrueNoord specialises in providing 50–150 seat regional aircraft to its airline customers across the world. Tieleman concludes, “Our full fleet of aircraft is on lease and operational, and we are exploring more transaction opportunities to further expand our fleet, as part of our disciplined growth strategy for 2023 and beyond.”
