Reed Smith’s global aviation team advised Keystone Holdings Global Pte. Ltd. (Keystone) – a 50-50 joint venture between ST Engineering and Sojitz Corporation – as transaction counsel on the structuring of the sale and lease transfers of a portfolio of 11 aircraft between the two parties. ST Engineering Aerospace Resources (Ireland) Ltd. acted as servicer. The aircraft were leased to eight separate lessees spread across four jurisdictions (United States, Singapore, Ireland and Korea).
The Reed Smith global aviation team was led by partner and head of aviation practice in Asia Simon Spells and corporate partner Manoj Purush, supported by lawyers across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The team received the award in Singapore at Airline Economics magazine’s Growth Frontier’s Singapore Conference.
Spells said: “We are delighted to have been named the winners of the Asia-Pacific Portfolio Purchase and Secured Financing Deal of the Year alongside our client. This strategic and targeted transaction to fuel Keystone’s future growth and expand their jurisdictional reach was one of the largest secured aircraft financings and trading deals in Asia in 2023/24, and the largest transaction that Keystone has entered into to date.”
“We are extremely glad to have engaged Reed Smith’s global aviation team as our transaction counsel in this project and to also achieve this milestone accolade together for our joint venture – Keystone. We would like to thank the Reed Smith team for their professionalism and dedication in executing this transaction with us,” commented Tan Boon Keng, SVP/GM and head of aircraft and freighter leasing for ST Engineering.
Keystone is a mid- to end-of-life aircraft leasing platform formed as a joint venture between ST Engineering and Sojitz Corporation that has been working in partnership since 2016. The company operates through its subsidiaries in various jurisdictions to support its market-leading portfolio purchase of aircraft, which it then leases internationally to airlines.
The complete list of award winners will be published in Issue 83 of Airline Economics magazine.
Reed Smith’s global aviation finance team has extensive experience with traditional and alternative financing structures, handling a range of sophisticated financing transactions for industry participants, including banks and non-bank lenders, arrangers, lessors, leasing companies, export credit agencies and airlines. The firm has a deep understanding of the aviation industry and uses its extensive cross-border experience to deliver innovative, tailored and cost-effective solutions for all types of transaction structures and investment routes.