Castlelake, a global alternative investment firm with 16 years of tenure investing in, financing and managing aviation assets, announced the completion of the sale and leaseback of six A330-200 freight aircraft to Avianca S.A. ("Avianca") with a 10-year lease term.
"We are pleased to build on Castlelake's existing relationship with Avianca to provide tailored capital solutions that help meet the growing demand for e-commerce in Latin America," said Joe McConnell, Partner and Portfolio Manager at Castlelake, L.P. "As global airlines return their focus to growth, we look forward to leveraging our platform and extensive experience investing in, and operating, aviation assets to support their goals."
This sale-leaseback and financing is the latest of several transactions between Castlelake entities and Avianca and its subsidiaries this year, including a financing facility provided to Avianca and another provided to LifeMiles Ltd., the leading airline loyalty program serving airlines and airline passengers in Latin America.
"We value Castlelake's support throughout our restructuring process. This transaction is a testament to the confidence of the market in our business model and future success. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship, as we prepare to capitalize on the recovery of the global airline industry," said Francisco Raddatz Vice President of Fleet at Avianca.
Castlelake has demonstrated substantial innovation over the course of the pandemic, launching an aviation lending business in 2020, followed by reopening the aircraft ABS market with Castlelake Aircraft Structured Trust 2021-1 in January 2021. In September 2021, Castlelake formed Castlelake Aviation Limited, a corporate lessor of commercial aircraft focused on financing young, modern, fuel-efficient aircraft. Castlelake's differentiated aviation expertise and dedicated team of more than 60 professionals allows the firm to attempt to provide innovative, tailored capital solutions to aviation industry participants, including airline loyalty programs, airlines and other aircraft buyers.