The final quarter of 2003 proved a lucrative one for the securitisation team at Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker.
The Paul Hastings team, which made the headlines last year with the hiring of Neil Campbell and team from rival firm Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, enjoyed the pickings from no fewer than three cross-border airline ticket receivable securitisations, including Japan's first.
In September last year, the US firm advised Nomura International as arranger and joint lead manager on Korean Air Lines' its first international securitisation. The ¥27bn (US$242m) asset backed deal by Korea's flag carrier was backed by Yen receivables arising from the sale in Japan of airline tickets by KAL on their routes between Japan and Korea. The floating rate notes, due 2006, were supported by a credit facility from The Korea Development Bank, which also acted as a joint lead manager.
Applying the same technology from Japan's first securitisation of airline ticket receivables, Paul Hastings then assisted another major Korean airline, Asiana Airlines, in two international securitisations.
The first, a ¥10bn (US$93.9m) deal, completed in just nine weeks on 24 December and was Asiana's first Japanese Yen cross-border securitisation. The secured Floating Rate Notes (FRNs) due 2006 were issued through OZ Yen Receivables Cayman Limited and were listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The Korea Development Bank acted as joint lead manager and provided a credit facility to the issuer to support payments on the Notes.
Partners Neil Campbell in Hong Kong and Norifusa Hashimoto in Tokyo led the Paul Hastings team advising Nikko Citigroup as joint arranger and joint lead manager and JPMorgan Chase Bank as note trustee.
The second deal - and Asiana's third international securitisation in all [the first was in December 2000 and was the first future flow securitisation in Korea, providing a template for this issue] - was a US$60m securitisation of Series 2003-1 Floating Rate Secured Notes due 2008. These were again issued through special purpose vehicle OZ Receivables and listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The deal completed on 29 December.
Partner Neil Campbell once again was lead partner and said: "Our securitisation team has a lot of experience in advising on airline-related ABS and financing transactions, particularly in Korea, and 2003 has been a great year."
In yet another deal, Paul Hastings advised Merrill Lynch as arranger and swap counter-party in relation to a securitisation of consumer loan receivables originated by Shinhan Bank of Korea. The deal, which closed on 26 November, is the first cross-border ABS transaction involving a Korean bank and included the securitisation of assets totaling over KRW800bn (US$ ) and the issuance of US$390m of senior notes.
Hong Kong based of counsel Sahir Surmeli led the Paul Hastings team, which included of counsel Michelle Taylor advising the trustee JPMorgan Chase. Kim & Chang advised on Korean law matters, with Maples and Calder serving as Cayman counsel.