Media releases

International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Bank of China (BOC) on its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE), the largest aircraft leasing company based in Asia for US$965m, which was completed on Friday 15 December 2006. 

Headquartered in Singapore, SALE is the largest aircraft leasing company based in Asia.  SALE owns a fleet of 63 aircrafts and manages 14 aircraft on behalf of third parties. In addition, SALE has firm orders for another 28 aircraft, and options and purchase rights to acquire 20 additional aircrafts.  SALE's fleet is one of the youngest in the industry with an average age of 3.5 years. More than 70 per cent of the fleet comprises the highly-popular narrow-body Boeing Next-Generation B737 and Airbus A320 aircraft. SALE has a diversified customer base in 20 countries across six continents.  As of 30 September 2006, SALE's total assets amounted to US$3.1bn and equity amounted to US$535m.

The acquisition forms part of BOC's overall corporate strategy in expanding its scope of diverse financial services and increasing its diversification into non-interest income. SALE will provide a well-established platform for BOC to expand into aircraft leasing, and potentially lead to other cross-selling opportunities with airline companies.  BOC will leverage its global client resources and institutional network in China and overseas to expand SALE's business globally, and particularly in the Chinese aviation sector, which is one of the fastest growing in the world.

The Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer team was led by Hong Kong-based partner Ng Kay Ian and London-based partner Robert Murphy.  They were assisted by a team of lawyers including Of Counsel Paul Ng, Chong Teck Yion, Hua Weiwei, Edward Smith, Sebastian Smith, Thomas Davies, Sarah Harris, Michelle Yip and Olivia Sim from the Hong Kong office and Alexander Van der Bijl and Alastair Lewis from the London office. 

Kay Ian commented: 'We congratulate Bank of China on this strategic and successful acquisition, which was won after a competitive bidding process, and represents BOC's first major acquisition after completing their US$13.7bn IPO on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges in June and July of 2006.  We look forward to participating closely with BOC as it grows from strength to strength.  We are delighted that BOC chose Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to advise them on this landmark acquisition, for which we fielded a team of lawyers highly skilled in both M&A product and aircraft-specialist sector experience.'

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a leading international law firm providing a comprehensive worldwide service to national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

We have a thriving corporate practice in Asia comprising over 90 lawyers, of whom 13 are partners. This practice covers all corporate work, including equity securities, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity deals across various sectors in Asia. We have also developed a strong US corporate group in Asia to meet the increasing demands of a market where US law and regulatory advice are often required. Our practice is extremely active across the region and we act for a range of financial institutions and corporates.

We have the resources and expertise to act swiftly on urgent and complex international assignments in today's demanding market. We have a large international pool of experienced corporate specialists who are used to resolving the complex commercial, structural and cultural issues involved in major cross-border transactions. Our Asia network gives us a strong understanding of the local market conditions throughout Asia.

Freshfields' China business group partners are acknowledged leaders in Chinese law as well as in their respective fields of specialisation, bringing a sound knowledge and leadership base to the group.