Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company KSCP on the US$3.3 billion sale to Macquarie AirFinance of a portfolio of 75 aircraft and order book of 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Company KSCP ("ALAFCO") on the sale of its aviation leasing business to Macquarie AirFinance Group Limited ("MAF"). This transaction involved the sale of a portfolio comprising 75 aircraft and an order book of 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for approximately US$3.3 billion.

This landmark transaction involved a multijurisdictional cross-practice team, mixing expertise in asset finance, corporate, employment, antitrust and litigation. The portfolio of aircraft sold are on lease to over 20 airlines and were all subject to financing prior to the sale, whilst antitrust clearance in multiple jurisdictions was required.

ALAFCO’s CEO, Mr. Adel Al Banwan, commented, “We are delighted to have secured and concluded this landmark transaction and would like to thank all parties involved. The sale of a portfolio of 75 aircraft required careful planning and in turn we needed to consider a range of legal issues such as anti-trust considerations as well as adherence to the various local laws relevant to an aircraft’s place of registration. With the help and professionalism of all involved, we addressed all legal issues and successfully concluded a complex cross-border asset sale.”

ALAFCO’s General Counsel, Paul Mercer, added, “A key factor in the successful closing was the co-operative attitude of all parties throughout and early planning which set out in detail the steps towards completion which included possible alternatives in the event of issues.” Paul commented further that “ALAFCO are thankful for the comprehensive and expert legal support provided by Clifford Chance which required advice on a range of legal practice areas and jurisdictions with extra special thanks to Qudeer Latif and the Clifford Chance team in Dubai for leading Clifford Chance’s support.”

The team was led by Partners Qudeer Latif (Dubai, Global Financial Markets) and Daud Khan (Abu Dhabi, Corporate) with support from various experts from across the Clifford Chance network, including:

1. Financing: Stephen Chance (Head of Asset Finance, Abu Dhabi), Igor Bichenkov (Senior Associate, Dubai), Greg Jehle (Senior Associate, Abu Dhabi), Vanessa Simpungwe (Associate, Dubai), Remoratile Mogodi (Associate, Abu Dhabi), Duaa Abbas (Associate, Dubai), Raad Gorji (Associate, Dubai), Aishah Bashir (Associate, Dubai) and Razan Samkari (Trainee Solicitor, Dubai).
2. Corporate: George Holman (Senior Associate, Abu Dhabi), Tom Lloyd (Senior Associate, Dubai), and Stavros Paterakis (Associate, Dubai).
3. Antitrust: Alex Nourry (Consultant, London), Greg Hayes (Senior Associate, London) and Mehjabin Ahmed (Associate, London).
4. Employment: Chinwe Odimba-Chapman (Partner, London), Andrew Patterson (Partner, London), Alistair Green (Senior Associate, London) and Leon Kidd (Associate, London).
5. Litigation: Jeff Butler (Partner, New York).