Ethiopian Airlines finalized a 1.2 billion US dollar loan deal to finance the ten Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner aircraft it has on order.
The legal documentation for the loan process including all lenders, financial guarantors and manufacturers was concluded recently according to officials with the airline.
The initial deal to set the loan process in motion was concluded last year according to Nega Mekonnen, Vice President of Corporate Finance of Ethiopia.
The purchase of the Dreamliner required a range of loan arrangements including a loan guarantee that was acquired from The US Export-Import Bank in charge of export credit arrangements in the United States.The junior lenders, contributing 12.5% of the total amount required for the purchase of the Dreamliners, are Dutch financier ING Capital, the Netherlands Development Financial Company, US Emerging Capital Partners, and US ICF International or Inner City Fund noted Nega.
85% of the loan was arranged through JP Morgan Chase & Co. and the ING Group and Ethiopian Airlines covered the balance.
The payment of the loan from the major financier, JP Morgan, will be paid back over a 12 year year period said Tewolde, Gebremariam, Chief Executive of the Airline.
It is to be remembered that the first Dreamliner aircraft is to arrive in Addis Ababa on the 17th of August.
Ethiopian is organizing a ‘Dream Tour’ to Kilimanjaro on August 18th for VIPS, members of the media and business people will be taken on a sightseeing tour of Africa’s highest peak said Tewolde.
Source: Capital
