Lease Corporation International (LCI), the leading helicopter lessor and aviation division of the Libra Group, has closed its inaugural capital markets term loan financing, with a value in excess of $55 million.

The private, senior secured tranches have a maturity of five years, and were offered to a range of US financial institutions. CIT Group Inc. and Prudential Capital Group , the private capital investment arm of PGIM, the $1 trillion global investment management businesses of Prudential Financial, Inc., jointly funded the financing.

LCI is using the proceeds from the financing to fund the continuing expansion of its fleet with the acquisition of six new Leonardo AW139 and AW169 helicopters. All of the aircraft have confirmed placements with lessees in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Search and Rescue (SAR) roles.

Jaspal Jandu, Chief Financial Officer of Lease Corporation International, says: "LCI's fast-growing helicopter leasing platform has now achieved the size for us to undertake our maiden capital markets placement. This transaction enables us to diversify our capital base and lower our cost of capital, further increasing the efficiency of our operations."

John Heskin, Managing Director for CIT's Aerospace, Defense & Government Finance (ADG) team, says: "CIT Group is delighted to continue its longstanding relationship with LCI by assisting on their first capital markets financing. With LCI's proven track record as a diversified helicopter lessor, it is no surprise that this placement received strong demand."

LCI's fleet, which comprises approximately US$750 million of assets in service and on order, is focused on the latest technology medium and super medium helicopters manufactured by the leading helicopter OEMs including Leonardo, Airbus and Sikorsky.