US aircraft lessor Aviation Capital Group has closed a $1.48 billion (€1.36 billion) unsecured term loan facility through its wholly owned Irish subsidiary ACG Aircraft Financing Ireland DAC, in a transaction syndicated to 33 lenders across multiple countries and maturing in July 2031.

According to PR Newswire as published by Morningstar, amounts available under the facility must be drawn by January 2027, with no amounts drawn to date. Funds borrowed will be utilised by ACG Aircraft Financing Ireland DAC and, through on-lending, by ACG Aircraft Leasing Ireland Limited, another wholly owned Irish subsidiary of ACG, for general corporate purposes including capital expenditure, debt repayment and working capital.

The facility was arranged by DBS Bank Ltd., The Bank of East Asia, Cathay United Bank, China Construction Bank Corporation, CTBC Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited. DBS Bank served as global coordinator, with Wilmington Trust (London) Limited acting as agent for the lender group.

Eric Blau, senior vice president, treasurer and head of capital markets at ACG, described the transaction as the company's second closing for ACG Ireland and said it demonstrated the depth and sophistication of the Asia-Pacific lending market in the aviation sector. "The success of this transaction is a testament to the incredible support ACG and its subsidiaries receive from our global lender base," he said.

Aviation Capital Group manages approximately 500 owned, managed and committed aircraft leased to roughly 90 airlines across approximately 50 countries. Founded in 1989, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Century Corporation and specialises in commercial aircraft leasing, asset management and aircraft financing solutions for third parties.

The transaction underlines Ireland's central role in aviation finance structuring, with Irish-domiciled special purpose vehicles and subsidiaries routinely used by major international lessors to access global debt capital markets. Ireland's favourable legal and regulatory framework for aviation asset ownership, combined with its membership of the European Union, has made it the jurisdiction of choice for aircraft leasing and financing structures across the industry.

The Asia-Pacific lender composition of the arranging group reflects the growing influence of APAC banking institutions in aviation finance, as Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese and Singaporean lenders have significantly expanded their participation in aircraft lessor debt facilities over the past decade.