$900 Million In Canadian, UAE Funds Available Now

A fast-growing business fractional company has bucked the recent trend of fledgling aircraft operations experiencing problems with obtaining investment capital. The Wall Street Journal reports XOJet Inc. will announce Monday it has secured $2.5 billion in financing from Canada and the Middle East.

Most of the funding will be tied to loans against the company's orders for 127 aircraft. Export Development Canada fronted $400 million, available now, towards XOJet's initial order Bombardier Challenger 300s.

An additional $500 million will reportedly come from Abu Dhabi, will another $1.5 billion in loans from other Middle East investors will be made available later this year, when XOJet sets up its international base in the United Arab Emirates.

With a slumping US economy driving uncertainty in global investment markets, XOJet's funding coup should go a long way towards establishing the two-year-old company in the increasingly fractious fractional segment.

"We believe we can be a major player in one of the most fragmented industries you'll ever see," said William McGlashan, managing director of XOJet backer TPG Growth and a director at the upstart bizjet fractional. "This will give us the capital to be able to scale to a very substantial level."

The WSJ adds XOJet has a long way to go, however, before it rivals segment leader NetJets... which operates as many flights in a day (close to 1,000) that XOJet currently manages in a month.

FMI: www.xojet.com