Etihad's innovative approach to a recent aircraft financing deal has been recognised within the financial community with a prestigious award.
The financing for one of its Airbus A340-600 aircraft has earned the Abu Dhabi-based airline Airfinance Journal's 'Middle East Deal of the Year' award.
The deal, worth USD $148 million, involved an innovative French tax lease, the first of its kind for Etihad Airways. It was also the first time that three French banks had worked together on a French lease for a Middle East airline.
The award was presented to Etihad's chief financial officer James Rigney at the 28th Annual New York Airfinance Conference held in New York.
The award-winning transaction was coordinated by Calyon, the international banking and capital investment arm of French bank, Crédit Agricole, and involved the French institution BNP Paribas-Capstar Partners as the mandated lease arranger. Four debt providers participated in the transaction: from France, BNP Paribas Aviation Finance Group and Calyon, together with local and regional banks National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Gulf International Bank BSC, respectively, as co-debt underwriters.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways' chief executive, said: "These are exciting times for Etihad as the airline continues to grow and establish itself firmly on the global stage. The strong support we continue to receive from the financial community is extremely gratifying. The local, regional and international relationships we are building through partnership deals such as this are critical to our development and future success."
James Rigney added: "It is pleasing that we now enjoy a level of credibility and the confidence of the regional and international financial community to make deals of this size and significance possible."
"We put a lot of hard work into this particular deal and achieved a key objective of introducing an array of new, international banks to our business. Whilst we don't want to use the same type of financing deal for every transaction, we do believe we have broken new ground with this deal."
Anne-Marie Siffroy-Pytlak, head of Calyon's Middle East and West Asia aviation team said: "Etihad should be congratulated for securing a very competitive financing deal, combining an innovative tax structure and the support of the regional banks."
"NBAD is proud to play a major role in Etihad's continued growth in fleet size which also demonstrates strengthening of ties between the UAE's number one bank and the national airline of the UAE," said Abdulla Bin Khalaf Al Otaiba, head of corporate banking group at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).
"Etihad Airways has proven its mettle within a short span of time to become a leading name in the aviation industry and NBAD looks forward to assisting Etihad Airways with its substantial investment programme and strengthening the relationship in order to play a significant role in the economic development of the nation," Al Otaiba added.
The award-winning deal concerned a four-engined Airbus A340-600 which was delivered in December 2007 to Etihad.
The financing deal was part of a wider undertaking by the airline, which purchased two additional Airbus A340-600s during 2007 using a USD$ 250 million financing facility with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Arab Banking Corp and Standard Chartered Bank.
The transaction of the three Airbus A340-600 was part of several financing deals arranged by Etihad in 2007 totalling almost USD $1.4 billion.
Etihad Airways' fleet currently comprises 37 wide and narrow bodied aircraft and will expand to 40 by the end of 2008.
Picture left to right: Hassan Ali, head of project finance and syndications, National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD); James Rigney, executive vice president finance, Etihad Airways; Jose Abramovici, managing director, global head of aviation and rail finance, Calyon; and Christophe Jallois, director, aviation group, Calyon
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About Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in the UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi.
Currently Etihad offers flights to 45 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.
Calyon
Calyon is the corporate and investment banking subsidiary of Crédit Agricole and is ranked among Europe's top 10 corporate and investment banks. Calyon has operations in 58 countries, offers its clients a full range of products and services in capital markets, brokerage, investment banking, structured finance, corporate banking and international private banking. Calyon is organised in two major divisions - capital markets and investment banking, and financing activities.
BNP Paribas-Capstar Partners
BNP Paribas operates in over 85 countries across five continents. It is a world leader in a growing number of business and markets. Aviation Finance Group and Capstar Partners are part of the Asset Finance department within Energy Commodities Export Project (ECEP), a major part of the Corporate & Investment Banking division.
Gulf International Bank BSC
GIB is a leading merchant bank in the Middle East with its principal focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. It is one of the largest regional banks in the GCC, with more than USD 28 billion of its own assets and USD 22 billion of clients' assets under management. With a proven track record spanning more than 30 years, GIB provides client-led, innovative financial products and services to a wide customer base in the region, including investment banking, asset management, project and structured finance and Islamic banking.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD)
Incorporated in 1968, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has a network of 74 branches and 187 ATMs in the UAE and more than 31 branches overseas. NBAD provides its customer with a wide variety of financial services across all segments of the retail and corporate market, in addition to fund management, brokerage, leasing, property management businesses and private banking facilities.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB)
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is a diversified, full-service bank. Other than banking services that span corporate, retail and commercial banking, ADCB is active in the areas of treasury derivatives, infrastructure finance, private banking and wealth management.
Arab Banking Corporation (BSC)
Arab Banking Corporation is a leading international Arab banking group headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with a regional and international network. ABC provides a full range of retail and commercial banking, investment banking, project and structured finance, corporate finance, discretionary fund management, foreign exchange, derivatives, Islamic banking and financial advisory services in the MENA and other international markets.
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is consistently ranked in the top 25 among FTSE-100 companies by market capitalisation. Standard Chartered has a history of over 150 years in banking and operates in many of the world's fastest-growing markets with an extensive global network of over 1,400 branches (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) in over 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas.
For further details: Etihad Airways Corporate Communications:
Tel: + 971 (0) 2 505 8317 / 8573 visit www.etihadairways.com
© Press Release 2008
