SMBC Aviation raises €412m through bond issue

Dublin-based aircraft lessor has closed the sale of $500m in seven-year unsecured bonds

Peter Barrett, chief executive of SMBC Aviation Capital. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons
Peter Barrett, chief executive of SMBC Aviation Capital. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons

Aircraft lessor SMBC Aviation has raised $500 million (€412 million) through a bond issue, the Irish company said on Tuesday.

Dublin-based SMBC confirmed that it had closed the sale of $500 million in seven-year unsecured bonds repayable at 2.3 per cent.

SMBC said that the placement, at US Treasury rates plus 1.1 per cent, represented the lowest credit spread ever achieved in a bond issue by the company.

The firm will use the cash raised for general purposes, possibly including buying aircraft and repaying existing debt.

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International credit ratings agencies S&P and Fitch recently confirmed SMBC's investment grade A rating.

Barry Flannery, SMBC’s chief financial officer, dubbed the bond sale a “strong endorsement” of the company’s strength.

“As our airline customers now increasingly focus on the recovery and the pent-up demand for travel, we are positioned to capitalise on what will be a period of substantial change and opportunity ahead for the wider sector,” he said.