AerCap, the world’s largest commercial aircraft owner and a global leader in aviation leasing, successfully entered the Islamic finance market with its inaugural 144a/RegS sukuk issuance. This move marked a rare instance of a European or US-based issuer tapping into the sukuk market, typically dominated by players from the MENA and Southeast Asia regions.
The issuance leveraged aircraft as the underlying assets, aligning with structures used in prior sukuk deals by aircraft lessors. AerCap achieved final pricing at T+110 basis points, equivalent to the pricing on its conventional US dollar bonds. This pricing parity allowed the company to broaden its investor base without incurring additional funding costs.
The $1.2 billion transaction garnered robust demand, with the final order book heavily allocated to investors from the Middle East and Asia. Over 90% of the sukuk was placed with banks, private banks and asset managers.
HSBC played a central role in the deal, acting as joint lead manager, bookrunner, and B&D bank.
