Vx Capital Partners closed its inaugural asset-backed deal, becoming the first issuer since 1999 to securitize an all-freighter portfolio. The issuance generated $189 million across three classes of loans, secured by thirty-five 737 Classic freighters. Most of the aircraft were originally acquired in passenger configuration by Vx and subsequently converted to cargo and leased.
Vx Cargo 2018-1 will be serviced by Vx Asset Management, and the equity in the transaction will be retained by Vx Freighter Investment Fund. Bob Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Vx remarked “Each functional department at Vx contributed to bring the portfolio to a point where it was sufficiently large and diverse to achieve the ratings and investor interest that we had hoped for.”
Serving the transaction was BNP Paribas as lead structuring agent and Nord LB and DVB as co-managers. UMB is acting as the Trustee, Canyon CTS as the Managing Agent and DVB as the Liquidity Facility provider. Milbank Tweed served as counsel to the issuer and Hughes Hubbard represented the underwriter.