ATTORNEYS • CIVIL LAW NOTARIES • TAX ADVISERS
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Beethovenstraat 400
1082 PR Amsterdam
T +31 20 71 71 000
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Amsterdam, 11 January 2024
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AerCap Holdings N.V.
AerCap House
65 St. Stephen’s Green
Dublin D02 YX20
Ireland
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a. |
all documents reviewed by us as originals are complete and authentic and the signatures on these documents are the genuine signatures of the persons purported to have signed them, all documents reviewed by us as drafts of documents or as
fax, photo or electronic copies of originals are in conformity with the executed originals and these originals are complete and authentic and the signatures on them are the genuine signatures of the persons purported to have signed them;
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b. |
if any signature under any document is an electronic signature (as opposed to a handwritten (“wet ink”) signature) only, the method used for signing is sufficiently reliable;
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c. |
no defects (gebreken) not appearing on the face of a Deed of Incorporation attach to the incorporation of any Company (kleven aan haar totstandkoming);
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d. |
(i) at all relevant times no regulations (reglement) have been adopted by any corporate body of any Company, other than the Board Regulations, and (ii) the Articles of Association of each Company
are its articles of association currently in force. The Extracts support item (ii) of this assumption;
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e. |
the resolutions recorded in the Resolutions correctly reflect the resolutions of the managing board of each Company, and have not been amended, nullified, revoked, or declared null and void, and the factual statements made and the
confirmations given in the Resolutions are complete and correct;
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f. |
each Power of Attorney (i) is in full force and effect, and (ii) under any applicable law other than Dutch law, validly authorises the person or persons purported to be granted power of attorney, to represent and bind the relevant
Company vis-à-vis the other parties to any Opinion Document referred to therein and with regard to the transactions contemplated by and for the purposes stated in the Opinion Documents to which it is expressed to be a party;
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g. |
none of the opinions stated in this opinion letter will be affected by any foreign law; and
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h. |
the above assumptions were true and accurate at the times when the Resolutions and the Opinion Documents were signed.
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1. |
AerCap Holdings N.V. has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a naamloze vennootschap (public company with limited liability) and AerCap Aviation Solutions B.V. has been duly
incorporated and is validly existing as a besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid (private company with limited liability).
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2. |
Each Company has the corporate power to enter into the Opinion Documents to which it is expressed to be a party, to grant the Guarantee and to perform its obligations under these Opinion Documents and the Guarantee.
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3. |
Each Company has duly authorised the entering into of the Opinion Documents to which it is expressed to be a party, the granting of the Guarantee and the performance of its obligations under these Opinion Documents and the Guarantee.
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4. |
Each Opinion Document has been validly signed on behalf of each Company expressed to be a party thereto.
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A. |
As Dutch lawyers we are not qualified or able to assess the true meaning and purport of the terms of the Opinion Documents under the applicable law and the obligations of the parties thereto, and we have made no investigation of that
meaning and purport. Our review of the Opinion Documents and of any other documents subject or expressed to be subject to any law other than Dutch law has therefore been limited to the terms of these documents as they appear to us on their
face.
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B. |
The information contained in the Extracts does not constitute conclusive evidence of the facts reflected in them.
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C. |
Pursuant to Article 2:7 DCC, any transaction entered into by a legal entity may be nullified by the legal entity itself or its liquidator in bankruptcy proceedings (curator) if the objects of that
entity were transgressed by the transaction and the other party to the transaction knew or should have known this without independent investigation (wist of zonder eigen onderzoek moest weten). The
Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) has ruled that in determining whether the objects of a legal entity are transgressed, not only the description of the objects in that legal entity’s
articles of association (statuten) is decisive, but all (relevant) circumstances must be taken into account, in particular whether the interests of the legal entity were served by the transaction.
Based on the objects clauses contained in the Articles of Association, we have no reason to believe that by entering into the Opinion Documents to which the Companies are expressed to be parties, granting the Guarantee or performing their
obligations thereunder, the Companies would transgress the descriptions of the objects contained in their Articles of Association. However, we cannot assess whether there are other relevant circumstances that must be taken into account, in
particular whether the interests of the Companies are served by entering into the Opinion Documents to which they are expressed to be parties, granting the Guarantee or performing their obligations thereunder, since this is a matter of
fact.
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D. |
The opinions expressed in this opinion letter may be limited or affected by:
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any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganisation, moratorium or other similar laws or procedures now or hereinafter in effect, relating to or affecting the enforcement or protection of creditors’ rights generally;
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b. |
the provisions of fraudulent preference and fraudulent conveyance (Actio Pauliana) and similar rights available in other jurisdictions to liquidators in bankruptcy proceedings or creditors;
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claims based on tort (onrechtmatige daad);
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d. |
sanctions and measures, including but not limited to those concerning export control, pursuant to European Union regulations, under the Sanctions Act 1977 (Sanctiewet 1977) or other legislation;
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the Anti-Boycott Regulation and related legislation; and
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f. |
any intervention, recovery or resolution measures by any regulatory or other authority or governmental body in relation to financial enterprises or their affiliated entities.
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“Anti-Boycott Regulation”
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Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 on protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom
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“Articles of Association”
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a.
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in relation to AerCap Holdings N.V., its articles of association (statuten) as they read after the execution of a deed of amendment dated 1 November 2021, which,
according to the relevant Extract, was the last amendment to the articles of association of AerCap Holdings N.V.; and
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b.
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in relation to AerCap Aviation Solutions B.V., the articles of association (statuten) as contained in its Deed of Incorporation
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“Board Regulations”
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AerCap Holdings N.V. Rules for the Board of Directors, including its Committees dated as of 16 March 2017
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“Commercial Register”
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the Commercial Register held by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (handelsregister gehouden door de Kamer van Koophandel)
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“Companies”
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a.
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AerCap Holdings N.V., a naamloze vennootschap (public company with limited liability) registered with the Commercial Register under file number 34251954; and
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b.
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AerCap Aviation Solutions B.V., a besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid (private limited liability company) registered with the Commercial Register
under file number 55083617
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“Corporate Documents”
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the documents listed in Exhibit C (List of Corporate Documents)
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“DCC”
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the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek)
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“Deed of Incorporation”
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a.
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in relation to AerCap Holdings N.V, its deed of incorporation (akte van oprichting) dated 10 July 2006; and
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b.
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in relation to AerCap Aviation Solutions B.V., its deed of incorporation (akte van oprichting) dated 10 April 2012
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“Exhibit”
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an exhibit to this opinion letter
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“Extracts”
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in relation to each Company, an extract from the Commercial Register with respect to that Company, dated the date of this opinion letter
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“Guarantee”
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the guarantee of the Notes by the Companies set forth in Article 10 (Guarantees) of the Indenture
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“Indenture”
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the indenture dated 29 October 2021, made between, inter alios, the Issuers, the Companies and the Trustee
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“Issuers”
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AerCap Ireland Capital Designated Activity Company and AerCap Global Aviation Trust
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“the Netherlands”
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the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and “Dutch” is in or form the Netherlands
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“Notes”
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the Issuers’ U.S. $ 800,000,000 5.100% Senior Notes due 2029 and U.S. $ 700,000,000 5.300% Senior Notes due 2034, under the Seventh Supplemental Indenture in the form of an exhibit thereto
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“Opinion Documents”
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the documents listed in Exhibit B (List of Opinion Documents)
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“Powers of Attorney”
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the powers of attorney as contained in the Resolutions, granted by the Companies in respect of, inter alia, the entering into the transactions contemplated by the
Opinion Documents
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“Prospectus Supplement”
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the prospectus supplement in relation to the Notes, supplementing the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement, dated 4 January 2024
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“Registration Statement”
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the registration statement of, inter alios, the Issuers and the Companies on Form F-3 under the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States, as amended, dated 19
October 2021
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“Resolutions”
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a.
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in relation to AerCap Holdings N.V., the documents containing the resolutions of its board of directors (bestuur), dated 7 October 2021 and 20 December 2023; and
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b.
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in relation to AerCap Aviation Solutions B.V., the documents containing the resolutions of its managing board of directors (bestuur), dated 6 October 2021 and 21
December 2023
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“Seventh Supplemental Indenture”
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the seventh supplemental indenture relating to the Notes, dated 11 January 2024, made between, inter alios, the Issuers, the Companies and the Trustee
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“Trustee”
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The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A.
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1. |
a pdf copy of the Indenture;
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2. |
a pdf copy of the Seventh Supplemental Indenture; and
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a pdf copy of the Prospectus Supplement.
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1.
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a pdf copy of each Deed of Incorporation;
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2.
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pdf copies of the Articles of Association;
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3.
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a pdf copy of each Extract; and
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4.
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pdf copies of the Resolutions.
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