Leading global law firm Baker McKenzie has advised joint bookrunners BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs in connection with Pegasus Airlines’ debut issuance of US$375 million senior unsecured notes due 2026. Pegasus Airlines is Türkiye’s leading low-cost airline, flying to 111 destinations in 43 countries.
Despite a difficult operating environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pegasus Airlines has performed well relative to its peers thanks largely to strong focus on unit costs and resilient domestic demand. Following a healthy start to 2020, Pegasus operated at over 80% of 2019 domestic capacity for the remainder of the year, with an average passenger load factor of 79%. Pegasus is 65.5% owned by the Şevket Sabancı family (mostly indirectly through ESAS Holding). The remaining 34.5% is listed on Borsa Istanbul.
London-based partner Rob Mathews commented, “We are delighted to play our part in helping Pegasus Airlines achieve their strategic aims during troubling times for the aviation industry. This deal was a great example of Pegasus, their investment banks and advisors collaborating to quickly and efficiently launch another successful transaction.”
The Baker McKenzie team was led by lead partners Rob Mathews and Megan Schellinger (both London) and Muhsin Keskin, partner and Head of Capital Markets at Esin Attorney Partnership in Istanbul. Lead Associates supporting the partners were James Tanner and Henry Gee (both London) and Erdi Yıldırım (Esin Attorney Partnership)
This transaction is the latest example of the Baker McKenzie corporate team advising on large deals in Türkiye. In October 2020 we advised BofA Securities in connection with an issuance of US$650 million Eurobonds due 2025 by Ülker Bisküvi Sanayi A.Ş., a Turkish multinational food manufacturer. In July 2020, we represented Akbank on its US$500 million senior issuance and subsequently them on a US$50 million green bond issuance.
The deal was announced 19 April 2021, priced 27 April 2021 and closed 30 April 2021.
Despite a difficult operating environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pegasus Airlines has performed well relative to its peers thanks largely to strong focus on unit costs and resilient domestic demand. Following a healthy start to 2020, Pegasus operated at over 80% of 2019 domestic capacity for the remainder of the year, with an average passenger load factor of 79%. Pegasus is 65.5% owned by the Şevket Sabancı family (mostly indirectly through ESAS Holding). The remaining 34.5% is listed on Borsa Istanbul.
London-based partner Rob Mathews commented, “We are delighted to play our part in helping Pegasus Airlines achieve their strategic aims during troubling times for the aviation industry. This deal was a great example of Pegasus, their investment banks and advisors collaborating to quickly and efficiently launch another successful transaction.”
The Baker McKenzie team was led by lead partners Rob Mathews and Megan Schellinger (both London) and Muhsin Keskin, partner and Head of Capital Markets at Esin Attorney Partnership in Istanbul. Lead Associates supporting the partners were James Tanner and Henry Gee (both London) and Erdi Yıldırım (Esin Attorney Partnership)
This transaction is the latest example of the Baker McKenzie corporate team advising on large deals in Türkiye. In October 2020 we advised BofA Securities in connection with an issuance of US$650 million Eurobonds due 2025 by Ülker Bisküvi Sanayi A.Ş., a Turkish multinational food manufacturer. In July 2020, we represented Akbank on its US$500 million senior issuance and subsequently them on a US$50 million green bond issuance.
The deal was announced 19 April 2021, priced 27 April 2021 and closed 30 April 2021.
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