Norton Rose Fulbright advises Australian Government on successful restructuring of Rex Airlines

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised the Australian Government on the successful restructuring and refinancing of Australia's largest regional airline, Rex Airlines.

Immediately upon entering voluntary administration in July 2024, the Australian Government identified Rex as an important airline for regional and remote communities and its continuation to be in the best interests of regional Australia, the travelling public, its workers and the aviation sector.

The firm advised the Australian Government on all aspects of the administration and measures to appropriately support the Rex business during its administration and to facilitate a potential financial restructuring.

This advice included interrelated rescue finance transactions designed to enable the administrators to continue to trade Rex's regional business, conduct a business improvement program during the administration, and conduct a sale process of Rex's regional business.

Those transactions included the Australian Government's $110 million finance facilities, a standstill agreement with Rex's then principal secured creditor (to facilitate an orderly sale of assets non-core to Rex's regional business), and the Australian Government's acquisition of $50 million of Rex's debt owed to that secured creditor.

Norton Rose Fulbright also advised the Australian Government on the administrators' sale process which resulted in the Rex companies' successful restructuring involving: acquisition of the shares in Rex Holdings by NASDAQ-listed AirT Inc, a restructuring of the Australian Government's rescue finance facilities; a restructuring of Rex's unsecured liabilities via a Deed of Company Arrangement and exit finance facilities provided by the Australian Government and Air T.

These arrangements include commitments aimed at enabling Rex to preserve essential regional aviation connectivity, facilitating the return of more aircraft to service and increasing the frequency of profitable flights across the Rex network.

Norton Rose Fulbright restructuring partners Noel McCoy and Scott Atkins commented:

"We are pleased to have brought together a multidisciplinary team to assist the Australian Government in its successful restructure of Rex Airlines. Rex has played an important role in meeting the travel needs of regional and remote Australians, and we are delighted to have supported the Australian Government's efforts to ensure that these valued aviation services can continue."

The transaction involved a multidisciplinary team across Norton Rose Fulbright. The team was led by partner Noel McCoy and partner and global head of restructuring Scott Atkins and included partner Vittorio Casamento and special counsel Adele Gray (banking & finance); partner Jasmine Sprange (corporate), partner Richard Morrison and special counsel Veronica Seeto (Commonwealth government). Other lawyers supporting on the transaction included special counsel Sebastian Jensen; senior associates Sera Erikozu, Igor Kungurov and Natalia Starostenko; and associates Alex Brigden, Ella Crowley-Burrows and William Batt.