Dubai, UAE — Emirates NBD has priced a five-year $600 million Sukuk for Air Lease Corporation (ALC), marking the first Sukuk issued by a US corporation.
The Sukuk saw orders of over $2.2 billion, allowing ALC to increase the offering to $600 million. The profit rate was tightened by 30 basis points to 5.85%, at a spread of 185 basis points over US treasuries due to the robust order book.
The Sukuk structure adheres to the latest Shari’ah standards, and the offering was anchored by Middle Eastern investors who received 80 percent of the allocation, Emirates NBD said.
ALC is one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies and has raised over $20 billion through the bond market.
Greg Willis, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Air Lease Corporation, said, “As the first North American corporate Sukuk offering, we are excited to demonstrate the depth and strength of liquidity in the Middle East market.”
Mohammad Al Bastaki, CEO of Emirates NBD Capital, stated, “The robust over-subscription and the participation of high-quality institutional investors from the Middle East will support ALC’s efforts to diversify its investor base and reflects the high demand for Shari’ah-compliant issues outside the region. We expect this milestone issue will incentivize other non-regional issuers to consider sukuk issuances.”
