White & Case Advises EIF and EBRD on Securitisation of Auto Lease Receivables Originated by Avis Hellas

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the investor teams from the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on a rare Greek Auto ABS, involving the securitisation of auto leases to Greek SME and corporate customers originated by Olympic Commercial & Tourist Enterprises Single Member S.A. (Avis Hellas). 

"This is the largest non-banking securitization transaction to date to take place in Greece and the only one since 2010 to achieve investment grade rating by two major rating agencies," said White & Case partner Debashis Dey, who led the firm's deal team. "The strong ratings achieved and the additional green investments that will be deployed definitely make it a success story for Olympic and the Greek capital markets."

Four tranches of Asset Backed Notes were issued under the transaction: €50 million Class A1 Floating Rate Notes due 2034; €43 million Class A2 Fixed Rate Notes due 2034; €37 million Class A3 Fixed Rate Notes due 2034 (subscribed by EIF, EBRD and another private investor); and €56.4 million Class B Subordinated Notes due 2034 (retained by Avis Hellas), with the Class A Notes receiving a BBB+ rating from Fitch and Standard & Poor's.

Avis Hellas, a market leader for auto lease contracts in Greece, has also committed to utilizing a portion of the issuance proceeds to implement projects for the reduction of its environmental footprint.

The White & Case team that advised on the transaction was led by partner Debashis Dey (Dubai & London) with support from partner Ingrid York (London), counsels Claudio Medeossi and Xuan Jin (both Dubai) and associate Adam Gao (Dubai).

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