Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. Sells Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Passenger Terminal

On January 27, 2015, City Centre Terminal Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. (PAHI), completed the sale of substantially all of its assets, including the passenger terminal at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (BBTCA), to Nieuport Aviation Infrastructure Partners GP (Nieuport), a consortium of Canadian and international infrastructure equity investors. Nieuport comprises InstarAGF Asset Management Inc., Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. Limited, Partners Group, and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Debt financing was underwritten by The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Caisse centrale Desjardins (Desjardins) and National Bank of Canada (NBC).  BNS acted as agent for the lenders.  

BBTCA is the ninth busiest airport in Canada, serving 2.4 million passengers in 2014. The terminal is a state-of-the-art facility newly constructed by CCTC in 2010. BBTCA is a major economic engine for the Greater Toronto Area, generating approximately $1.9 billion in total annual economic impact and supporting approximately 5,700 direct and indirect jobs. It is accessible to about 6.6 million residents within a one-hour drive. In 2013, BBTCA was recognized by Skytrax as one of the world’s best small airports.

PAHI and CCTC were represented in-house by Greg Sheahan and by Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP with a team led by Jim Cade and Troy Ungerman and included Michael Wahl and Karen Galpern (Corporate), Mike Moher (Banking), Barry Segal (Tax), Orestes Pasparakis (Advisory), Kevin Ackhurst (Regulatory), Madeleine Donahue (Environmental) and Michael Lieberman (Real Estate). RBC Capital Markets and Barclays Capital Canada also advised PAHI and CCTC on the transaction.