Edward K. Gross is a Shareholder at Vedder Price and a member of the Global Transportation Finance team, and established the firm’s Washington, DC office.
He is co-chair of both the General Equipment Finance and Business Jet Finance sub-practice groups, and has almost 40 years of experience representing bank-affiliated, captive and independent financing providers and investors, as well as lessees and borrowers. in all aspects of aviation and other equipment finance transactions, including documenting, structuring, negotiating, syndicating and enforcing these transactions.
Mr. Gross handles all types of equipment finance matters and structures, including true/ tax motivated leases, synthetic leases, TRAC leases, equipment financing agreements, loans and other secured financings and “bundled” and other vendor-originated financings. He has significant experience with a wide spectrum of asset types, including transportation, trucks and trailers, manufacturing, logistics, construction, energy, medical/health-related and high-tech equipment, modular units and fixtures.
Mr. Gross is considered an industry leader regarding the leasing and financing of all types of aviation assets, including fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and engine pools. Clients include market-leading aircraft and helicopter financing providers, investors and operating lessors, as well as large publicly or privately held businesses, governmental entities or high-net-worth individual lessees and borrowers.
The business aircraft financed in these transactions include jets and turbo-prop aircraft operated primarily for the customer’s business purposes, or for transportation services including chartering, or pursuant to fractional or “pay card” arrangements. The financed helicopters are typically operated in various service capacities (e.g., air ambulances, oil and gas service, fire suppression, hauling, etc.) or for VIP, business or other transportation purposes. These aircraft and helicopter financings vary in structure and include domestic and multi-jurisdictional tax and non-tax leases, operating leases and secured loan financings, involving progress payment, completion and other multi-funding structures. The structures of these transactions typically involve multiple counter-parties, including citizenship and other trusts, management companies, maintenance program providers and affiliated and unaffiliated users of the aircraft and the manufacturer or other seller.
Many clients rely on Mr. Gross and Vedder Price’s Capital Markets team as lead counsel on securitizations of diverse asset classes, and he regularly assists clients with a broad spectrum of other capital markets transactions, including large portfolio purchases, “one-off” sales and assignments, discounting, back-leveraging and participation transactions. Mr. Gross has also prepared lease, loan and syndication forms for many of the most active financing providers in the industry. Working with Vedder Price’s well-regarded bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice, Mr. Gross has assisted financing providers, including various creditor groups, with workout, restructuring, bankruptcy and enforcement matters.
Vedder Price is an international business-focused law firm serving sophisticated clients of all sizes and industries from offices across the U.S. and in the UK and Asia.
Washington, D.C. ,
United States