CASE STUDY
The Client:
A leading fiberglass pool manufacturer in the United States with substantial operations servicing both domestic and international markets, the company has built a dominant position in the residential and commercial pool industry through innovative manufacturing processes, quality products, and extensive distribution networks. Operating as a U.S. subsidiary of a non-U.S. parent company, the business had experienced exponential growth that expanded its geographic footprint, customer base, and operational complexity across North America and international markets. With the CEO requiring frequent travel to visit manufacturing facilities, meet with distributors, attend industry events, and develop international customer relationships, the company’s existing corporate aircraft no longer provided the range and capacity necessary to support the business’s expanded scale and global ambitions—requiring an upgrade to a large-cabin, long-range business jet capable of intercontinental missions.
The Challenge:
Despite the fiberglass pool manufacturer’s strong cash flow and ability to obtain financing from subsidiary-level operations, the company faced significant obstacles securing corporate jet financing due to their non-U.S. parent company structure and the owner’s absence from the United States. Traditional U.S. aircraft lenders struggle with foreign parent ownership, as they lack familiarity with international financial reporting standards, face challenges conducting credit due diligence on non-U.S. entities, and worry about legal complications in cross-border enforcement scenarios. The owner’s physical absence from the U.S. added another layer of complexity, as conventional lenders typically require domestic guarantors and prefer borrowers with substantial U.S. presence for relationship management and covenant compliance monitoring. The target aircraft—a 10-year-old Boeing BBJ VIP jet valued at $40 million—represented a substantial financing requirement that would challenge even domestic borrowers, and the combination of foreign ownership, owner absence, and large transaction size created a perfect storm that caused traditional aviation lenders to decline the opportunity despite the underlying business strength and cash flow capacity. The company required a trusted partner who could understand their unique international corporate structure and provide flexible financing solutions rather than applying rigid domestic-borrower criteria that ignored the business fundamentals.
Solution:
First National Capital’s Aviation division recognized that foreign parent structures shouldn’t disqualify creditworthy U.S. operating companies from accessing aircraft financing when underlying business performance and cash flow support debt service, and that global business operations often justify long-range aircraft investments that domestic-only companies might not require. FNC completed financing for the 10-year-old Boeing BBJ VIP jet, navigating the complexities of the non-U.S. parent structure through creative due diligence approaches that evaluated both the U.S. subsidiary’s financial strength and the parent company’s backing. The financing covered the entire $40 million cost of the corporate jet, providing 100% funding without requiring substantial down payments that would have depleted working capital at the operating company level. By working through the owner absence challenges and structuring guarantees and covenants that accommodated the international ownership reality rather than demanding impossible domestic presence requirements, First National enabled the transaction to close when traditional aviation lenders had walked away. The CEO could now utilize the long-range BBJ to expand business operations globally, meet the demands of international customers with the personal attention that drives major commercial relationships, efficiently visit manufacturing facilities and distribution partners across continents, and support the company’s continued growth in both domestic and international markets—all made possible by First National’s willingness to provide sophisticated financing solutions for companies with non-traditional ownership structures that traditional lenders reflexively decline.
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