The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted air travel and Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) joined a long list of aviation industry companies that needed to restructure major debt obligations.
The premier lessor of regional aircraft in the world, NAC sought relief from creditors and NAC’s private placement noteholders, its largest creditor group, turned to Akin. Our leading-edge lawyers advised on a $6-billion global restructuring that crossed multiple borders and implemented an innovative restructuring plan that proved groundbreaking.
Strategic Negotiations
Akin represented the private placement noteholders of NAC 29 Aviation Designated Activity Company (NAC 29) in a multiyear engagement. Our globally integrated teams, hailing from multiple practices and offices across Europe and the United States, collaborated seamlessly to assist the noteholders of an Ireland-headquartered company—with operations in numerous countries—navigate the chapter 11 process in the United States.
Our lawyers first negotiated a multibillion-dollar debt agreement through an Irish scheme of arrangement. Shortly thereafter, due to the impact of the ongoing pandemic, the company went into a full restructuring. Akin took a lead role in London and the United States in strategically negotiating the terms of one of the most complex, cross-border restructurings in decades.
Multiple Debtor Company Siloes
The deal involved multiple debtor company siloes, differing amounts of debt, categories of collateral supporting that debt, as well as the contrasting desires of the various invested parties. Our clients relied on Akin’s substantial cross-border capabilities and the tremendous talent of our financial restructuring, debt finance, corporate, tax and disputes lawyers in Europe and the United States.
Our multidisciplinary teams advised on an agreement whereby the NAC 29 creditors took a significant share of NAC’s post-reorganization equity and debt, in exchange for their existing debt instruments. NAC exited the bankruptcy process with a significantly deleveraged balance sheet and access to increased capital to support growth.
A Path Toward Growth
With significant experience advising on restructurings of companies with operations in numerous jurisdictions, Akin conducted a sophisticated analysis and coordinated across offices to compare and contrast, in real time, every potential option through each relevant jurisdiction.
Our lawyers helped the parties find the right path to implementation while also tackling the many overlays of Irish and other European regulations, and the U.S. federal laws impacting the chapter 11 proceedings. This resulted in NAC successfully emerging from bankruptcy and paving a path toward growth.