Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and Merx Aviation, a global aircraft leasing, management and finance company, closed an issuance of $540.12 million of secured notes by MAPS 2021-1 Trust, a Delaware statutory trust.

The offering consisted of three series of notes: $417.65 million Class A notes with an interest rate of 2.521%, rated A1 by Moody’s Investor Services and A by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P); $72.23 million Class B notes with an interest rate of 3.425%, rated Baa1 by Moody’s and BBB by S&P; and $50.24 million Class C notes with an interest rate of 5.437%, rated Ba1 by Moody’s and BB by S&P. According to Apollo and Merx, MAPS priced at the tightest ever all-in yield for a three-tranche syndicated aircraft portfolio ABS.

The portfolio backing MAPS consists of 20 Airbus and Boeing aircraft valued at approximately $628.06 million. The portfolio features 18 narrow body aircraft and two freighters, with a weighted average age of 5.8 years overall and 4.3 years excluding freighters, and a weighted average lease term of 8.4 years. MAPS is the third aircraft securitization serviced by Merx.

“With MAPS 2021-1, we are delighted to continue the legacy of the MAPS ABS program, which comprises conservative, consistent and robust structures. We are extremely proud of the high-quality portfolio constructed and originated by the Merx and Apollo teams,” Ronan Murphy, senior vice president of strategy and capital markets at Merx, said. “We look forward to continuing the MAPS program into the future, bringing our track record of strong performance and focus on exceptional servicing along with us.”

Deutsche Bank acted as sole structuring agent and left lead bookrunner, Goldman Sachs and Citi acted as joint lead bookrunners and Natixis acted as joint bookrunner and liquidity facility provider for the transaction. Milbank acted as legal counsel to Merx and Vedder Price acted as legal counsel to the initial purchasers.