Aircraft asset management firm ABL Aviation is teaming up with Embraer on a $400 million financing facility dedicated to supporting the OEM’s E-Jet E2 program.
The two companies say that ABL’s investment will provide Embraer’s airline customers with enhanced and more affordable financing options for E2-model deliveries, including the E190-E2, E195-E2 and planned E175-E2.
ABL says that it will be able to leverage its investor network, innovative financial models and experience in closing complex cross-border transactions, combining that with Embraer’s aircraft products and a delivery timeline that can currently get aircraft into customers’ fleets four to five years faster than competitors’ products.
The new scheme is modeled on the success of ABL’s existing Airbus A220 program, which provides financing options for A220 deliveries to airlines.
“This financing facility will give our customers an additional and sought-after financing solution,” said Stephan Hannemann, Embraer’s MENA head and senior vice president for sales and marketing.
“ABL Aviation is a well-established aircraft financing provider exclusively focused on the world’s most efficient and liquid assets. ABL is a global business with strong Moroccan DNA and could therefore potentially support the national airline on their fleet financing needs.”
While there are many options for financing and leasing E2s, “with ABL we have a partner who distinguishes itself through their speed and scale of execution.”
The ABL support offer is global, but this deal focuses on Morocco, he added. The funding facility will be exclusively for the purchase of new E2s, rather than used machines.
The Marrakech Air Show saw Embraer and Morocco sign a memorandum of understanding to launch potential joint projects in the country’s aerospace industry, across areas in commercial aviation, defense and urban air mobility. Embraer is known to be hopeful of gaining an order for its C-390 military airlifter from the Royal Moroccan Air Force.
ABL says that its new partnership with Embraer supports airline and industry growth, modernization and sustainability goals.
The deal was secured during this month’s Marrakech Air Show in Morocco and highlights Morocco’s emergence as an aerospace hub, providing access to Africa’s rapidly growing passenger and cargo markets. Morocco’s Casablanca Airport is also a major hub for intra-African traffic.
Anticipating the region’s growth and rising importance as a hub for global trade, ABL established its North African headquarters in Casablanca in 2017. ABL and Embraer say they expect to unlock new opportunities in Morocco and beyond, potentially extending to bespoke financing for E2 deliveries, parts procurement and other tailored financing solutions for airline customers.
“ABL is proud to play a role in our industry’s transformation by helping expand access to Embraer’s E2 jets,” said ABL Aviation’s CEO Ali Ben Lmadani.
“With a shared commitment to industry-wide sustainability, innovation and growth, I’m optimistic this is just the beginning of a productive long-term partnership, with new opportunities for collaboration bound to emerge in the future.”
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