Avianca, one of Latin America's largest airlines, has successfully completed a debt refinancing transaction. This transaction was critical in refinancing debt incurred following Avianca's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021, improving the company's debt maturity profile. The first transaction involved an exchange offer to refinance Avianca's existing tranche of A1 senior secured notes. Concurrently, the company issued a new tranche of senior secured notes, ranking equally with the exchange notes. The proceeds from this issuance were used to redeem Avianca's A2 senior secured notes and prepay an existing credit facility for its LifeMiles subsidiary.
We acted as Bermuda counsel to Avianca, working alongside Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as US counsel. Our team provided strategic advice on the Bermuda security structure to facilitate the simultaneous execution of the exchange, issuance, redemption, and repayment transactions.
This latest transaction highlights our longstanding relationship with the Avianca Group, to whom we provide multidisciplinary legal support across our corporate and finance teams.
Our team was led by partner Adam Bathgate, supported by senior counsel Joe Williams, senior associate Korin Knights, and associate Karina Skinner.