Jiangsu Financial Leasing Co provided financing for the vessels owned by the Türkiye and Netherlands-based diversified family owned Yildrim Group.
London-headquartered law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) served as advisor to Jiangsu. WFW said the transaction was not a pure sale and leaseback as the closing mechanism was complex and involved the prepayment of outstanding exposure from a previous transaction, discharging securities and multiple transfers on the closing date.
The use of mortgage-backed vessels allows the parties to use a structured loan-to-value ratio for lower-value vessels. The transaction was executed within a month.
The WFW Hong Kong Assets Structured and Finance team that advised Jiangsu Financial Leasing was led by Hong Kong office head Christoforos Bisbikos, supported by associates Joey Cheung and Jennie Wong.
Mr Bisbikos said, “We are delighted to have advised JSFL, a relatively new player in the ship leasing market that is actively seeking to expand its shipping portfolio, on this complex and challenging financing.”
A diversified conglomerate, the Yıldırım Group has headquarters in Amsterdam and İstanbul and owns 24% of liner giant CMA CGM.
