Burnham Sterling Closes $153 Million Private Placement with Avianca

GREENWICH, Conn., March 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Burnham Sterling Securities LLC ("Burnham Sterling"), an investment bank specializing in transportation asset finance, today announced it has acted as lead arranger and sole book runner in a privately placed transaction for Avianca, Colombia's national airline, covering two A320 family and one Boeing 787 aircraft.  The transaction, which utilized an Enhanced Aviation Investment Vehicle private EETC Structure ("EAIV"), developed by Burnham Sterling, closed in November and December of 2014.

"This is the first time Avianca has been involved in this type of transaction, and we were very pleased with the execution of the deal and the flexibility it provides us with," said Gerardo Alfaro, Director of Fleet Finance at Avianca. 

"We are experiencing strong and growing demand from new investor sources seeking to finance commercial aircraft," said Michael Dickey Morgan, Executive Managing Director at Burnham Sterling. "Burnham Sterling is structuring transactions to channel investor demand to meet the needs of airlines. We specialize in private placements which provide access to a growing global investor base, bringing new investors and attractive terms to our clients in the airline industry."

Burnham Sterling structured the transaction, arranged the rating and placed the transaction with a major institutional investor. Avianca was represented by Greenberg Traurig, and Vedder Price represented EAIV.

About Avianca                 
Avianca is the commercial brand that represents the Latin American airlines integrated in Avianca Holdings S.A. Its workforce of over 19,000 employees has been recognized to provide an excellent world class service. The Avianca airlines, specialized in air cargo and passenger transportation, serve over 100 direct destinations in 27 countries throughout the American and European continents with its modern fleet of 173 short, medium, and long haul aircraft. Through its membership with Star Alliance, Avianca offers the possibility to connect to more than 1,321 airports in 193 countries globally. Through LifeMiles, the loyalty program, the airline offers a wide range of benefits and travel options to its more than 5.9 million registered members. Throughout 2013 Avianca transported 24.1 million passengers. For more information please visit avianca.com, or contact us through social networks: Facebook.com/aviancaoficial, Twitter.com/Avianca or @Avianca, Youtube.com/Avianca, Pinterest.com/aviancaairlines.

About Burnham Sterling         
Burnham Sterling is a specialized investment bank focused on the transportation and leasing industries. Burnham Sterling is led by Michael Dickey Morgan, the former head of Babcock & Brown's aircraft advisory and placement group and is based out of B&B's former Greenwich, Connecticut office.  Burnham Sterling and its affiliates have financed or acted as financial advisor on billions of dollars of equipment. For more information visit the company's website at www.burnhamsterling.com.  

For more information please contact:

Matt Dallas      
Burnham Sterling            
+1 (203) 769-5916           
[email protected]

SOURCE Burnham Sterling Securities LLC