1. New Treasury Proposal Would Crush
Leasing to Tax-Exempt Entities
In its continuing efforts to shut down what it considers to be
abusive tax shelters and put the brakes on the ballooning budget deficit,
the Treasury Department has included proposals in the administration's
fiscal year 2005 budget that could crush certain types of long-accepted
leasing to tax-exempt entities. See Treasury's proposal at page 124.
Tax-Indifferent Parties Affected
The proposal would apply new rules to leases with
"tax-indifferent parties." Tax-indifferent parties would include
federal, state, local and foreign governmental units, charities and foreign
entities or persons. The proposal does not specifically reference
tax-exempt nonprofit organizations other than charities, but it is likely
that Treasury intends to include virtually all tax-exempt entities. As a
result, trade associations and other large organizations like NRA, AARP and
labor unions would likely be adversely affected by the proposal.
Current Depreciation Under Attack
Under present law, the recovery period for property leased to a
tax-indifferent party is the longer of the property's assigned class life
under the Internal Revenue Code or 125% of the lease term. Although
computer software and qualified technological equipment (QTE) have long
been exempted from this slower depreciation scheme, the Treasury proposal
would eliminate the exemption from this rule. The proposal would also
require that service contracts and other similar arrangements occurring
after the end of a lease of property to a tax-indifferent party be taken
into account in determining the lease term. See: Cost Recovery Deductions for Tax-Exempt Use Property:
The Historical Context by the ELA.
In a much more dramatic change, the Treasury proposal would limit a
taxpayer's deductions or losses related to certain types of leases to
tax-indifferent parties to the taxpayer's income from the lease (income
limit). In effect, the passive loss rules would be applied on a
lease-by-lease basis to all kinds of lessors.
*Technical Point: A lessor's disallowed deductions
would be carried forward and treated as deductions in the next year subject
to the same limitations. Like the passive loss rules, the proposed rules
would allow a lessor to claim any unused deductions when it disposes of the
leased property.
Affected Lease Transactions
The income limit would apply to a lease to a tax-indifferent party
if it has any of the following characteristics:
- The leased property is
financed with tax-exempt bonds.
*Example: A university may finance
student housing with tax-exempt bonds. Several years later, it could sell
and lease back the property. In most cases, if the lessee used tax-exempt
debt to acquire the property and then sold it, the debt would cease to be
tax-exempt, but that is not always the case. The provision also would apply
if a lessor financed a facility with tax-exempt debt and then leased it to
a tax-exempt entity.
- The tax-indifferent party
enters into an agreement to "monetize" its lease
obligations, including any purchase option, in an amount exceeding 20%
of the lessor's cost of the leased property. Arrangements to monetize
these obligations include defeasance arrangements, loan by the tax-indifferent
party or an affiliate, a deposit agreement, a letter of credit
collateralized by cash or cash equivalents, a payment undertaking
agreement, a lease prepayment, a sinking fund arrangement or other
similar arrangement.
*Technical Point: Treasury would be permitted to
issue regulations to allow monetizing up to 50% if the credit worthiness of
the lessee would not otherwise satisfy the lessor's customary underwriting
standards.
- The lessor fails to make an
unconditional 20% equity investment in the property or fails to
maintain a 20% investment throughout or at the end of the lease term.
- The tax-indifferent party
assumes and retains more than a minimal risk of loss. Treasury views
put options, residual guarantees, residual value insurance and other
similar agreement as mitigating the risk of loss.
- Any other lease described
by Treasury in regulations.
According to the budget proposal and earlier Treasury press releases
("Treasury Announces New Budget Proposals" "New
Proposals Close Loopholes, Stop Abusive Tax Avoidance"), the
proposal was intended to put a stop to so-called sale-in, lease-out or SILO
leases with tax-indifferent entities. The typical SILO is described as a transaction
in which: (1) no interruption or change in control occurs, (2) the lessee
has an option to "repurchase" the property, and (3) a substantial
portion of the lessee's rental obligations are defeased. (That is, the
parties create a fund from proceeds of a sale of leased property to assure
payments to the lessor).
As written, the income-limit proposal goes well beyond capturing
SILO transactions of the type described by Treasury. In fact, the
income-limit proposal could apply to certain lease transactions that meet
guideline criteria as true leases. See: Leasing 101: What are the "Tax Guidelines" and "Revenue Procedure
2001-28" Business Leasing News (June 2003).
*Warning: The proposal is not limited to
sale-leaseback or lease-leasebacks or to transactions in which there is a
purchase option. The administration proposes a retroactive effective date
to January 1, 2004. Lessors and lessees would therefore become subject to
the proposals for leases entered into after December 31, 2003.
However, the Treasury Department has indicated that it is willing to work
with tax writers to address the retroactive effective date that would limit
SILOs. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman William Thomas (R-CA) and
Representative Jim McCrery (R-LA) have expressed concerns that the
retroactive effective date of the SILO proposal could thwart legitimate
leasing transactions.
Proposal Hurts Lessees and Lessors
In one of several statements issued by the Equipment Leasing
Association (ELA), the ELA states that the proposal would potentially
deprive tax-indifferent parties of the financial benefits of tax leasing,
including obtaining needed cash through certain common sale-leaseback
arrangements. See: Leasing Provides an Important Source of Financing for
Cities.
The administration's proposal to limit tax deductions from property
used by tax-exempt entities is not new. Section 476 of the proposed JOBS
bill (S.B. 1637) (the Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act) as
reported in the Senate last year also includes provisions that would limit
deductions from such property to the amount of income generated from such
property. Further, Section 472 of the JOBS bill would treat service
contracts as leases for purposes of similarly limiting depreciation
benefits. See: Tax-Exempt Entity Leasing Takes a Sudden Hit from Tax
Shelter Legislation Business Leasing News (December 2003).
ELA Takes Action
Describing the "extremism" of a "poorly-thought-out
provision," ELA immediately and vigorously opposed the Treasury
proposal and argued that it should be dropped. Lessors have routinely made
billions in capital available to tax-exempt entities. States have already
been hit hard by the slow economy and face $80 billion of deficits for
2004. See: Stingers: The 2004 State Tax Survey, CFO
Magazine online (January 2004). ELA argues that the proposals would
limit tax benefits available to their lessors and, in all likelihood,
increase pressure on cities and other tax-exempt entities to further reduce
the capital and infrastructure spending at a time when they desperately
need to start to recover after the economic downturn.
*Comment: Although budget deficits
understandably require Treasury's attention, why is it that a tax-paying
lessor should not be able to enter into a routine and long-accepted tax
lease with a tax-exempt entity? See: Cost Recovery Deductions for Tax-Exempt Use Property:
The Historical Context by the ELA. While the lessee may be
tax-indifferent, the taxpayer-lessor is not. Lessors take the tax benefits
and, based on market forces, share their tax savings with lessees, thus
driving down the cost of capital for valuable capital expenditures by the
lessees. The analysis is exactly the same for lessors for taxable lessee
entities, such as private hospitals. Lessors pay taxes on their taxable
income regardless of the lessee's tax bill. Moreover, lessors provide a
source of funds to many cash-strapped tax-exempt entities that have few, if
any, other source of capital for infrastructure and capital asset programs.
If the Department of Treasury is concerned about defeasance structures, it
should limit the scope of its income limit proposal to defeasance
structures without regard to the status of the lessee. As proposed, the
Treasury proposal seems to raises tax revenue on the back of tax-exempt
entities rather than target truly abusive aspects, if any, of leasing to
tax-indifferent parties.
Some Deals Unaffected
At least one group of lessors in certain tax-exempt leasing
transactions seems to be unaffected. According to the Association for
Government Leasing & Finance lessors who enter into typical Section
501(c)(3) and municipal lease-purchase transactions do not take the tax
benefits and therefore would be unaffected by the Treasury proposal.
Lessors and lessees alike who participate in this market should
consider taking immediate action on the JOBS legislation and the Treasury
budget proposal if they want to avoid overbroad and transaction-limiting
legislation. For more information and to support the ELA's effort to fight
the legislation and budget proposal, contact Federal Government Relations
at ELA at 703-527-8655. David H. Fenig is the newly appointed Vice
President of this part of ELA.
I would like to thank one of my tax partners, George Schutzer, for his extensive assistance in
drafting this article. If you would like to consider taking action
regarding this proposal, please feel free to call or e-mail me or George to
discuss the resources at Patton Boggs LLP available to address your
concerns and assist you.
[Top]
2. Business Aircraft Prospects Look Up
For Lessors and Lenders
In the last several months the market in business aviation has begun
to take a positive turn. Economists predict a healthier economy is at hand.
Sustained growth in business aviation, which is expected to develop over
the next eighteen months to two years, would give leasing and financing of
business aircraft a much-needed lift. Lessors, lenders and brokers have
already begun to experience increased buying and selling activity, as well
as renewed interest in financing business aircraft. The signs have provided
reason for cautious optimism in 2004 and beyond. Business Jet Market Prepares for Takeoff to Sustained
Growth, Business Leasing News (January 2004).
Consequently, lessors and lenders have begun to reevaluate the
market prospects for business aviation. Variations in approach vary
depending on whether a lessor or lender desires to enter the market for the
first time or has inventory on hand coupled with troubled aircraft lessees
or borrowers.
Positive Impact on Leasing and Financing of Business
Aircraft
In the past, growth in financing and leasing in business aviation
generally trail the uptick in the economy. As a general rule, lessors
experience growth markets for leasing within six to nine months after the
economy begins sustained growth. Yet, for some players, prospects have
already begun to gel for greater volume in financing and leasing in 2004.
What factors will propel these opportunities?
- Low Price and Interest
Rates. The
low price of existing inventory combined with an improving economy
should unleash pent-up demand for business aircraft. Similarly, for
those buyers who do emerge, lessors and lenders should respond quickly
to the needs of creditworthy borrowers and lessees. Historically low
interest rates may propel the desire to acquire aircraft in the near
term to avoid escalating rates that may eventually accompany a stronger
economy. See: Low finance rates stoke the market, EBASE
Convention News (May 7-9, 2003).
- Corporate Profits and
Individual Wealth. Two closely related but missing ingredients in the past couple
of years are beginning to reappear: corporate profits and increasing
personal wealth. As companies start to show solid earning and the
stock market props up individual wealth, the willingness to acquire
business aircraft should increase, especially when combined with the
value proposition that business aircraft enhance productivity and
offer far greater convenience than travel on commercial airlines.
- Bonus Depreciation and
Other Deductions. Bonus depreciation should help induce certain
buyers to enter the market for business aircraft and/or upgrade
existing aircraft. However, the impact thus far has been negligible
according to Honeywell. See: Honeywell Aircraft Production
Forecast, World Aircraft Sales Magazine, page 45 (November
2003) (called, the "Honeywell Report") at page 49. Some
potential buyers who elect to use the 50 percent additional first year
depreciation or 30 percent bonus depreciation will note that these
accelerated tax benefits can create significant savings or incentive
to act now while the tax benefits remains available under the current
law (the end of 2005). Some interested customers may prefer loans to
avail themselves of these tax benefits. In addition, the chief counsel
of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has given recent advice that
certain companies may deduct the cost of operating business aircraft
that exceed income derived from employees or shareholders who pay for
personal use of the aircraft, creating substantial tax deductions for
the companies. See: Ruling Clears Way for Tax Breaks on Company Aircraft
Use, Washington Post, Tuesday, page E:1 (January 20, 2004);
Corporate Aircraft Used 95% for Personal Use Held
Fully Deductible, by Louis M. Meiners, Advocate
Consulting (2003).
- Aircraft Retirements. Given the aging fleet of
business aircraft, the need to replace or upgrade business aircraft
should increase sales and related leasing and financing. Approximately
25 percent of the world's business jets are over 20 years old.
Assuming a 25-30 year useful life, the market could experience
significant demand after 2005 for new or newer aircraft to replace the
aging models. See: Business Jet Market Overview, Part I (July
2003) Teal Group, World Aircraft Sales Magazine, page 36 (July
2003) (called the "Teal Report").
- New Applications for
Business Aviation. While business jet markets try to get moving again,
different applications of business aircraft have begun to develop. For
example, new programs exist in which a passenger can buy hours on a
business jet without incurring the expense of buying a fractional
share or whole aircraft. For a price ranging from roughly $100,000 to
$300,000, a customer can obtain 25 hours of flight time on different
types of jets, and many of the other benefits of a fractional share
ownership. See: Business jet-setters play cards right, Chicago
Tribune (November 17, 2003); Competition Heats Up In
Private-Jet Rentals: $85,000 for 25 Hours, The Wall Street
Journal (S.W. Ed.), Section D:1, Col. 2 (October 23, 2003).
While market improvements may occur slowly, the pieces of the
sustained growth puzzle seem to be lying on the table for lenders, lessors,
buyers and sellers to put together over the next two years.
[Top]
3. FIN 46R Clarifies Off-Balance Sheet
Issues
In December 2003, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
completed its deliberations and published a new interpretation on
off-balance sheet transactions that replaced FIN 46, FASB Interpretation
No. 46 - Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, an Interpretation
of Accounting Research Bulletin No. 51" (FIN 46). The new
interpretation, referred to as FIN 46R, supersedes and arguably complicates FIN 46.
FASB published a markup to show the exact changes from FIN 46.
Despite FASB's changes, FIN 46R does not seem to significantly alter
the impact of FIN 46 on leasing. FASB decided, in making these changes, to:
- Defer the effective date of FIN 46R for certain variable
interests even though the FIN 46 compliance deadlines initially
created great concern. See: With FASB Consolidation Deadline Approaching, Will You
Act in Time?
- Add scope exceptions for
certain variable interests. For example, if an entity is a business
rather than a variable interest entity (VIE) meeting certain
conditions, the enterprise with an interest in the entity need not
analyze it as a VIE.
- Clarify certain rules involving
debt a restructuring. FASB provided more guidance on when, in this
situation, an enterprise should reconsider whether an entity
constitute a VIE and how to determine which party is the primary
beneficiary.
- Provide guidance on when a VIE
exists for purposes of FIN 46R.
*Tip: Although FASB tried to illuminate and illustrate
the ins and outs of FIN 46R, the new interpretation remains difficult to
apply and understand. For lessors, lessees and lenders, each transaction
should still be analyzed anytime an entity may have characteristics of a
VIE or special purpose entity. You would be prudent to perform this
analysis in any new or restructured multi-party transaction. Consider
workouts as well as any new lease transaction involving a partnership,
trust or other special purpose entity. Consult knowledgeable accountants
early in your transactions so you don't get a surprising rechacterization
of a transaction when you least expect it.
[Top]
4. Despite the Improving Economy,
Challenges Persist in Business Aviation Portfolios
Many existing borrowers and lessees of business aircraft have also
seen their fortunes deteriorate due to the slow economy over the past three
years. As a result, lessors and lenders have experienced an increase in
defaults, returns of aircraft, early terminations and poor aircraft
maintenance practices. Lessors and lenders consequently have had to
repossess aircraft and develop workout strategies to survive until the
market recovers. Inventories have grown, and remarketing efforts have faced
frustrating delays or lack of activity. Despite improvement in the economy
in general and business aviation in particular, lessors and lenders still
face challenges with their aircraft inventory. Fortunately, solutions exist
that provide ways to manage inventories of aircraft built up from problems
with troubled lessees or borrowers.
Challenges for Financing and Leasing in the Growing
Economy
As the market slowly strengthens as discussed in Article
2, lessors and lenders who still hold aircraft in inventory for sale or
lease should consider strategies that anticipate an improving business
aviation market. These players may want to take some or all of the
following steps to manage their portfolios over the next year to eighteen
months:
1. Understand the trends in the business aviation market as it relates
to aircraft in your inventory.
2. Try to avoid selling aircraft at forced liquidation
values or even orderly liquidation values except for an aircraft that is
ready for replacement or costly upgrades in the next year or two. In other
words, if feasible, hold your aircraft inventory for sale until you can
obtain acceptable market prices.
3. Perform or require your lessee or borrower to perform necessary maintenance
of repossessed aircraft in anticipation of sales or other dispositions. If
you do repossess aircraft, expect to agree to pre-purchase
inspections by prospective buyers who will look closely for
"squawks" or other maintenance issues in your aircraft to reduce
the price or require you to invest in significant repairs.
4. Lease or charter aircraft for short terms now while the business
aviation market gains strength so that you can lease and eventually sell
into a stronger market yielding higher values and lease rates.
5. Work out payment or other defaults with your lessees or borrowers
who can maintain and operate the aircraft, but may not be able to pay rents
at the originally agreed schedule. This approach may help keep the aircraft
operating and in good condition until stronger market conditions exist for
disposition of the aircraft and/or recovery of amounts due from your
borrower or lessee.
*Tip: Use appropriate experts such as appraisers,
aviation consultants, lawyers and equipment management professionals to
assist you in implementing these strategies.
Some news reports indicate that business aviation markets for used
aircraft have begun to develop positive momentum. As a result, lessors and
lenders with a portfolio of aircraft to market may find that 2004 is
finally their year to move their inventory out and get their business
aviation efforts off the ground again.
[Top]
5. Leasing 101: What is "Article
2" - "Sales" in the Uniform Commercial Code?
Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code applies to
transactions involving the sale of goods,
which includes most types of moveable, leased property, ranging from health
care equipment to transportation assets, such as trailers or business
aircraft. Article 2 also contains many provisions on warranties of goods
and how to limit or disclaim them. Article 2 does not apply to any security
transaction although the purported sale takes the form of an unconditional
contract or sale accomplished by making a contract, called a present
sale.
*Tip: As a lessor, you generally buy equipment and/or
take assignments of a seller's warranty or contract rights with respect to
equipment. Consequently, you need to understand Article 2. This Article may
provide the terms of a sale incorporated into your leasing transaction. Lenders
also should understand Article 2. The value of your collateral may be
affected by rights your customer obtains under Article 2.
Article 2 has been under revision since 1989 by the National
Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Laws (NCCUSL) and the American Law
Institute (ALI). The NCCUSL
and ALI
memberships approved a redraft of Article 2 in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
The changes will eventually be adopted in the states and include provisions
relating to the scope of, and warranties, performance and breach and
remedies and third party rights under, Article 2. These changes will, in
turn, affect how the buy-sell portion of equipment leasing and financing
transactions will be done.
[Top]
6. BLN Briefs: Patriot Act Provision
Ruled Unconstitutional; Truck and Rail Leasing Rolls; Boeing May Tank on
British Tankers
Patriot Act Provision Ruled Unconstitutional. A U.S. District Court in Los Angeles declared
a portion of the USA Patriot Act unconstitutional. The court ruled that
the Act's prohibition on anyone "providing expert advice or
assistance" to terrorists as impermissibly vague under the First
Amendment right to free speech. See: Humanitarian Law Projects et. al v. John Ashcroft.
*Comment: The USA Patriot Act requires
financial institutions to obtain and disclose information about the
customers or others using bank accounts and completing certain financial
transactions. The USA Patriot Act also imposes duties on lenders and
lessors that make compliance extremely expensive and difficult. The Court
in the instant case agreed that the USA Patriot Act contained a vague
provision that did not meet constitutional standards. Could provisions of
the USA Patriot Act affecting lenders and lessors face constitutional or
other challenges like the one in this case because those provisions are
also overbroad and vague?
Truck and Rail Leasing Rolls. The National Truck Equipment Association and the American
Association of Railroads (AAR)
expect the accelerating economy and capital expenditures to have a positive
affect on growth in their industries. If their predictions come true,
lessors and lenders should experience a substantially increased volume of
truck, trailer and rolling stock transactions this year.
Boeing May Tank on British Tankers. In another potential tanker
setback, Boeing Co. may lose its bid to provide the British government
refueling tankers under a long-term lease arrangement valued at
approximately $24 billion. See: Boeing
may lose British tanker deal, Associated Press on Harold Net
(January 24, 2004). This transaction is even larger than Boeing's
proposed $17 billion deal to lease 20 - 767 KC-767A aerial refueling
aircraft to the U.S. Air Force which remains in hot water with the
Pentagon.
*Comment: Despite these troubles with
Boeing, lessors should take note that not only will the U.S.
government consider huge and complicated leases, the British government
will also do so. See: Boeing May Be Out of Running for British Contract,
The Wall Street Journal (S.W. Ed.), Section A:9, Col. 3
(January 23, 2004).
[Top]
7. Training Offered; Recent
Publication; Upcoming Speeches
Training - Substance the Easy Way!
To help improve your business operations, deal processing and risk
management, I offer private training seminars tailored to your specific
needs at your designated location. My interactive and informative training
includes topics I cover in BLN. I customize the format and content for your
specific training needs- no canned programs. Feel free to call me at (214)
758-1545 to discuss the possibilities.
Recent Publications
Besides BLN, I write other articles on leasing and financing topics
with a current emphasis on energy, tax and terrorism issues. Check out Tax Lessors Get
a Bonus From New Depreciation Regulations, Monitor
(November/December 2004).
Upcoming Speeches
Please consider attending the Large
Ticket Conference of the ELA in Dana Point, California from April
25-27, 2004 where I will provide an update critical insurance issues that
affect the structure of financing transactions, including the new limited
use of residual guarantee insurance, terrorism and war risk issues, and
insurance risk management with respect to business aviation.
For lawyers and contracts experts, please consider attending the ELA
Legal Forum in New Orleans,
Louisiana from May 2-4, 2004.
At this conference, I will help lead a panel on recognizing a "true
lease" and structuring lease transactions to take into account new
case law and practice as it relates to accounting, bankruptcy, UCC and tax
law affecting meaning of a "true lease." New challenges to true
leases status may generally impact your understanding of lease
transactions.
[Top]
A Message From the
Publisher, David G. Mayer
Who Moved Our Cheese?
During the past Holiday Season in 2003 I received as a gift the best
seller, Who
Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D. It presents a simple
story that applies to everyone. With all the significant changes occurring
in the leasing industry, the ideas in the book seemed to apply to many of
us who rely on leasing for our livelihood.
Who Moved My Cheese? is a story about four characters who look for
"cheese" in a "Maze." The cheese represents what you
want out of life, including happiness in your job and at home. The Maze is
the place where you look for the cheese-for the aspects of your life that
make you happy.
As we move into 2004, you may already be aware that the cheese is
moving in the leasing business in important and unpredictable ways. For
example, as I discussed in Article 1 above, the Treasury
and Congress want to dramatically limit tax-oriented leasing to tax-exempt
entities. The International Accounting
Standards Board (IASB) and FASB
have undertaken joint convergence projects that could end most off-balance
sheet leasing with a shift to the asset/liability model from the current
risk/reward model. Consolidation fever is hot again as demonstrated by the
mergers of Fleet Boston with Bank of America and of Bank One with J.P.
Morgan Chase, reducing further the ranks of lessors. Last, but not least,
the Basel II Accord could become effective in 2006 and
potentially cause internationally active banks and leasing companies to
face new constraints on leveraged leasing as well as the types and quantity
of leasing that they can do worldwide.
You'll have to read Who Moved My Cheese? to learn more about
its characters (if you have not done so). You may see yourself in one or
more of them. But now, as we make a fresh start in this New Year and face
the challenges at hand, take a look at "The Handwriting on the
Wall" based on this book. Depending on your character, how will you
see these events and cope with them? Dr. Johnson offers the following
axioms: (1) change happens and will keep moving the cheese; (2) anticipate
change- get ready for the cheese to move; (3) monitor change as you need to
understand when your cheese will move; (4) adapt to change; (5) change
yourself because by doing so you move with the cheese; (6) enjoy change by
taking the challenge and taste the new cheese; and (7) be ready to change
again as change is a constant in our lives.
The characters in Who Moved My Cheese? illustrate how we each
deal with change and help us learn some important lessons about change in
simple, yet powerful, terms. Be aware of change, embrace it, work with it,
adapt to it and realize that change has generally been good for the
creative and resourceful people in the leasing industry. Have a great
February as you move through your maze looking for the cheese.
Feedback From You
Here are comments I receive on Business Leasing News. One reader sent me some humor and quipped: "I
thought you might enjoy this from one Dummy to another! Best wishes for the
New Year and keep the information coming - its very useful and
timely." Another reader commented:
"You write a great news letter for the leasing industry!!"
I don't disclose the names or titles of people who comment on BLN,
but these readers come from many different disciplines and seniority levels
in the financial services, power, equipment, aviation, professional
services and other industries. As always, thanks for your comments and do
let me know what topics you think BLN should discuss this year.
About the Web Site of Business Leasing News
If you have bookmarked BLN, please use BLN's current address at
Patton Boggs LLP: http://www.pattonboggs.com/newsletters/bln.
Stayed tuned for new developments in web site access to BLN.
About Patton Boggs LLP and My Practice
As you may be aware, I am a part of the Patton Boggs LLP
Business Transaction Group in our Dallas
office. Patton Boggs LLP is a law firm of about 400 lawyers located
globally in six locations with extensive capabilities in over fifty areas
of legal practice that include leasing, secured transactions,
securitizations, syndications, project and mezzanine financing, bankruptcy,
public policy, litigation, intellectual property and technology law and
much more.
The leasing and secured transactions practices regularly involve the
buying, selling, financing and leasing of real and personal property of all
kinds, including business aircraft, energy, facility, production, power
plant, technology and healthcare assets. We also structure, negotiate and
close secured transactions of all kinds, tax exempt, state and federal
leasing arrangements and corporate and portfolio acquisitions, among a full
range of financing and acquisition transactions. Despite the improving
economy, we continue to assist our clients with troubled deals and
bankruptcies, including repossessions, lift stay actions, deficiency
litigation, workouts and forbearance agreements.
Please feel free to call me at (214) 758-1545 or e-mail me at dmayer@pattonboggs.com for
information about any of these areas or the many others available at Patton
Boggs LLP, or to discuss anything I have written in Business Leasing
News. I welcome the opportunity to build a relationship with you!
Thanks to the BLN Staff
I extend a special thank you to my editors at Patton Boggs LLP for
their comments on this edition, Adrian Nicole McCoy, Steve Reagan and our
primary web site review partner, Jeff Turner. The technical team,
consisting in part of George Barber and Winston Jackson, provide you the
easy-to-use e-mail navigation and artistic appearance of BLN.
[Top]
PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO OTHERS. You may, for this
purpose, disregard Patton Boggs' distribution restriction at the bottom of
this email.
All the best,
David
David G. Mayer
Founder and Publisher
Patton Boggs LLP
2001 Ross Avenue
Suite 3000
Dallas, Texas
75201
(214) 758-1545 (phone)
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E-Mail: dmayer@pattonboggs.com
© David G. Mayer 2004
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Disclaimer:
BLN information is not intended to constitute, and is not a substitute
for, legal or other advice. Comments, tips, warnings, predictions, etc.
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circumstances and issues. The Disclaimer linked here also shall be deemed
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the views of Patton Boggs LLP, but rather those of David G. Mayer.
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