Etihad Airways president and chief executive officer James Hogan
A consortium of Etihad Airways, Etihad Airport Services, airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles and Alitalia have raised a further $500m in a second platform financing transaction.
The funds raised by the transaction will be again used largely for capital expenditure and investment in fleet, as well as for refinancing, depending on each individual airline’s needs, Etihad Airways president and chief executive officer James Hogan said in a statement released today.
“This transaction shows the strength of that grouping, as well as the strength of the individual members. This second tranche of combined fund-raising is part of our long term capital strategy,” Hogan said.
The funds have been raised through a special purpose vehicle, EA Partners II BV. ADS Securities, Anoa Capital, Goldman Sachs International and Integrated Capital are acting as Placement Agents and Joint Bookrunners.
The first platform financing raised $700m last year.
Etihad Airways began operations in 2003, and carried 17.6 million passengers in 2015. It has a fleet of 122 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with 204 aircraft on firm order, including 71 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and 10 Airbus A380s.
It has equity investments in air berlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Virgin Australia, and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional.
Etihad Airways with Air berlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Etihad Regional, Jet Airways and NIKI participates in Etihad Airways Partners.