Ex-Im Approves $75.7 Million in Financing For Export of U.S. Helicopters to Brazil

 Ex-Im Approves $75.7 Million in Financing For Export of U.S. Helicopters to
                                    Brazil

PR Newswire

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2012

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Export-Import Bank of
the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $75.7 million loan guarantee
for Lider Taxi Aereo S.A.—Air Brasil that will support the export of three
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation S-92® helicopters to Brazil.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110414/MM83673LOGO)

Ex-Im Bank 's support enabled Sikorsky to win the order in competition with
government-backed European competitors and will sustain approximately 500 jobs
at the company's facilities in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Likewise, the loan guarantee has proved to be an invaluable resource for Lider
Taxi, which had insufficient access to financing on acceptable terms to
purchase the helicopters.

"The financing support for these helicopters illustrates the unique ability of
Ex-Im Bank to provide essential financing to ensure American exporters can
compete in the international marketplace," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and
President Fred P. Hochberg. "Our support leveled the playing field and kept
500 highly-skilled American workers on the job."

Headquartered in Stratford, Conn., Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is a
manufacturer of commercial and military helicopters. Its S-92 model is a
heavy-mission helicopter designed for offshore transport, medical emergencies,
and search-and-rescue missions.

"The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. often plays a vital role in the sale of
Sikorsky commercial helicopters to the offshore oil and gas industry
worldwide," said Bob Kokorda, Sikorsky vice president for sales and marketing.
"These three S-92 helicopters will enable Lider Taxi to fly Brazilian workers
to offshore rigs in deeper water farther from shore. And they will help
maintain a healthy U.S.-based supply chain for the aircraft while sustaining a
highly skilled workforce at our helicopter manufacturing facilities in the
United States."

Lider Taxi, established in 1958 and the largest air taxi company in Brazil,
plans to use the helicopters to shuttle personnel and equipment to offshore
oil platforms.

The transaction is the sixth Ex-Im Bank has approved since 2004 with the Belo
Horizonte-based company.

Brazil is one of Ex-Im Bank's nine key markets and accounted for $2.7 billion
of the Bank's worldwide credit exposure at the end of FY 2011.

About Ex-Im Bank:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain
U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American
taxpayers. In the past five years, Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers
$1.9 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of
financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit
insurance, and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and
services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $32.7 billion in total authorizations in FY 2011 -- an
all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6 billion directly
supporting small-business export sales -- also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's
total authorizations are supporting an estimated $41 billion in U.S. export
sales and approximately 290,000 American jobs in communities across the
country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.

 

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States

Website: http://www.exim.gov