William Cusack

Primary Focus & Experience

William has acted for a range of financiers, equity investors, asset management firms and leasing companies on various asset finance and cross-border leasing transactions with a focus on the aviation sector. His practice includes advising clients in operating lease transactions for new and used aircraft, and large-scale aircraft portfolio sales spanning multiple jurisdictions.

William has recent experience including advising:

• volofin Capital Management in connection with a senior secured limited recourse loan facility with Aero Capital Solutions, financing aircraft engines. The portfolio consisted of an initial nine engines with scope for further engines to be financed. The finance documents contain a committed and uncommitted facility totaling $50,000,000.00.
• Avolon in connection with a $660 million commercial secured loan facility for 17 aircraft (Airfinance Journal’s 2022 Bank Loan Deal of the Year).
• BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank as lenders and lead arrangers in Airfinance Journal’s 2020 Bank Loan Deal of the Year. This $300 million secured aircraft warehouse facility to Bleriot Aviation Funding Designated Activity Company, a joint venture between Airbus and JP Lease, was a leading example of increased joint venture activity in the aviation finance and leasing market in light of the challenging market environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was one of only two such deals in 2020.
• Various aircraft financiers and leasing companies in connection with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• CMB Financial Leasing as seller on the sale of two narrowbody aircraft to Lunar Aircraft Holdco.
• SNB Capital (formerly NCB Capital) on the acquisition of a portfolio of 19 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft from AerCap and financing under a $500 million Murabaha facility jointly arranged by Citibank and BNP Paribas.
• An international aircraft leasing company on the purchase of and acquisition by a newly established Irish vehicle of a portfolio of 21 commercial aircraft from AerCap.
• Porterbrook Rail Finance Limited in connection with the £885m refinancing of its existing facilities (Global Transport Finance Rail Lessor Refinancing Deal of the Year 2018).

Recognition & Accomplishments

William has previously spent seven months seconded to the legal department of a major aircraft lessor headquartered in Saudi Arabia. William has attended the Milbank@Harvard program, taught on campus by Harvard Business School and Law School faculty.