Equipment Finance

The Equipment Finance Group consists of a large group of partners, associates and paralegals focused on equipment finance transactions. For decades, this team has represented lessees, lessors and debt, equity and underwriter participants, including institutional investors and international leasing companies.

Our practice group’s vast experience with rail companies includes the nation’s two largest Class I railroads.

We have represented clients in all types of lease and equipment finance transactions, including structured secured financings, project financings and leveraged leases (involving multi-tier, double dip and cross-border leases), tax-advantaged lease financings, synthetic leases, credit-tenant leases and other lease-related transactions such as equipment trust certificates, enhanced equipment trust certificates and lease portfolio securitizations.

These transactions have involved virtually all types of equipment and fixtures, including railroad rolling stock, aircraft, vessels, vehicles, mining equipment, telecommunications equipment, rail lines, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, cogeneration facilities and retail stores.

The Equipment Finance Group is supported by nationally known tax practitioners who devote a major portion of their time to the structuring of transactions and various issues of tax ownership and indemnification that are critical to such financings. Given the ever-increasing complexity of many of these financing transactions, firm attorneys are accustomed to working in cross-disciplinary teams in a seamless fashion. All resources of Chapman and Cutler LLP’s practice group are available in connection with each financing transaction in which we are involved.

Related Practices

Representative Transactions

• In just the past few years our practice group has handled more than $7 billion in leveraged lease financings of rail equipment for major U.S. railroads, utilizing either public or private debt and involving numerous U.S. and foreign equity investors.
• Chapman and Cutler represented the debt investors in a series of vessel financings for one of the largest, non-government owned shipping companies in the world secured by vessels with an aggregate appraised value in excess of $600,000,000.
• We represented investors in the leveraged lease financing of a series of submersible ocean drilling platforms, including the financing of undivided interests in the platforms and devising structures to protect financing parties’ interests under operating agreements.
• Chapman and Cutler represented institutional investors in the structure and purchase of $350,000,000 of project finance secured notes issued by a limited purpose entity supported by a twelve-utility consortium power-purchase agreement.
• We represented participants in lease financings of corporate jet aircraft (structured as either synthetic or single investor operating leases).
• The firm has participated in lease financings of corporate headquarters buildings, rail and intermodal facilities, railcars and related rail assets, in many cases involving commercial paper conduit financing syndicated to various U.S. and foreign lending institutions.
• Chapman and Cutler represented a Class I Railroad in a series of major financings of key intermodal facilities located across the United States.
• Chapman and Cutler negotiated numerous cross-border leases of commercial aircraft (including aircraft registration and mortgage lien protections) in various jurisdictions including, as representative, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Sweden.
• We represented clients in a $665 million leveraged lease of an ethylene plant facility of a major Canadian chemical company.
• The firm provided legal services in a $250 million capital lease financing for one of the country’s largest casino operators, covering the purchase of furniture, fixtures and equipment (including gaming equipment, hotel furnishings and restaurant equipment) located in three casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.