Norton Rose has advised DVB Group Merchant Bank (Asia) Ltd, the Singapore based subsidiary of DVB Bank AG, in a commercial debt financing for North American Aircraft Leasing Company Limited (NAAL).

Singapore-based partner Simon Briscoe led the Norton Rose team acting for DVB, which arranged and underwrote the senior loan tranche in the financing for NAAL.

NAAL is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) acting as an operating lessor to Hainan Airlines Company Limited.

New York firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advised Hainan Airlines while UK firm Richards Butler, led by Hong Koing based John McGuiness, acted for the junior lenders.

The Hainan deal is the first time a non-state owned Chinese Airline has managed to secure non-guaranteed debt in the international air finance community.

The debt facility has been structured as a 12-year operating lease and finances Hainan's first of a series of B767-300ER aircraft. Boeing Capital Loan Corporation and Pratt & Whitney (UT Finance Corporation) provided the junior loan component.

The Hainan deal is just the latest in a line of work Norton Rose has recently completed for DVB. The UK firm's asset finance team recently worked on the financing for Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) of a Boeing 747 freighter on lease to Asiana Airlines Inc.

Meanwhile, in another development, Richards Butler's John McGuiness has led a team advising HSBC as arranger on a US$300m export finance/commercial financing/French tax lease for four Airbus A330-200 Aircraft delivered for Qantas Airways Limited.

The firm also advised the three European export credit agencies - ECGD, COFACE and Hermes, in connection with the transaction.
Three of the four aircraft involved an unusual three-tier lease structure in three different jurisdictions (Australia, France and the Netherlands), utilizing a combination of French tax lease financing and export credit support and commercial financing. This is the first European export credit Airbus financing for Qantas.

Australian firm Blake Dawson Waldron, alongside Allen & Overy, acted as counsel to Qantas on the deal, while Mallesons Stephen Jacques was Australian counsel to the lenders and US firm White & Case acted as French counsel to the French parties.