WNG Capital LLC

In late 2013, an analyst at WNG Capital LLC, Wenbo Su, must recommend whether the terms of a sale-and-leaseback deal are value adding for WNG. WNG was an operating lessor of used commercial aircraft manufactured by Airbus Group and Boeing Corporation. The lessee in the deal was a small private airline based in the United Kingdom. The essence of the transaction was to transform the airline from being the owner of certain aircraft in its fleet to being the lessee of the aircraft for the ensuing 12 months. The airline would have full use of the aircraft, but would not own the aircraft or have use of the aircraft after the end of the lease. The cash flows to all parties were complicated, and Su planned to conduct a thorough analysis of the proposed lease terms before making a recommendation to WNG’s CEO, Michael Gangemi. The student’s challenge is to assume Su’s role and develop a discounted cash flow analysis to estimate the NPV to WNG Capital. The broader discussion of the case prompts students to answer how the airline benefits from the deal. This analysis and discussion form the basis of understanding the value of leasing as a value-adding financial product.