Willis Lease Finance amends revolver to exclude subsidiary earnings

By Susanna Moon

Chicago, Aug. 26 - Willis Lease Finance Corp. amended its $450 million revolving credit facility with Union Bank, NA as administrative agent and security agent, effective last Wednesday, according to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company amended the credit agreement to expressly exclude some of its direct and indirect subsidiaries from the requirement to comply with the covenants under the credit agreement in the event that they become wholly owned subsidiaries of the company.

Also, the financial results of operations of those subsidiaries would be excluded from the calculation of the company's consolidated financial results used for purposes of the financial covenants under the credit agreement.

The credit agreement was closed Nov. 18, 2011.

Recent upsizing

Willis Lease Finance said on June 19 that it increased the size of the revolver to $450 million from $430 million, led by Union Bank as joint lead arranger and bookrunner.

The facility is available on a revolving basis through November 2016.

Proceeds were to be used to finance the company's lease portfolio, which was more than $1 billion as of March 31, according to a previous press release.

Wells Fargo Bank is the syndication agent, and U.S. Bank is the documentation agent and joint lead arranger.

Willis Lease said on Sept. 7, 2012 that it upsized its five-year revolving credit facility to $430 million from $345 million, adding three banks.

The company closed the revolver in November 2011 at Libor plus 275 basis points, with a spread of 250 bps to 325 bps based on leverage. The total size could be expanded to $450 million.

The company planned to use borrowings under the revolver and the proceeds of a $390 million offering of asset-backed securities issued through subsidiary Willis Engine Securitization Trust II to repay the floating-rate asset-backed securities of another Willis Lease Finance subsidiary, Willis Engine Securitization Trust.

Willis leases spare commercial aircraft engines and aircraft. The company is based in Novato, Calif.

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