The legalities of transacting

With more than 30 offices worldwide, Jetcraft has the edge in negotiating global aircraft sales. Cross border transactions require a dedicated team to navigate the complexities of differing legal systems and language barriers. That’s why our in-house experts work with local counsel to confirm a timely closing, finding creative solutions when challenges arise. Throughout, protecting the interests of our clients and ensuring a fair transaction is paramount.

In this video, Gemma Downs, Corporate Counsel for Jetcraft in EMEA, shares her insights on the legalities of transacting and how buyers and sellers can avoid a deal falling through.

How do you solve the legal complexity of cross border transactions?

In order to overcome the logistical challenges when you have a buyer in one region and a seller in another, the Jetcraft legal team employ local counsel to ensure that we are available in the designated time zone when each party to the transaction is online and awake.

What are the main reasons why a deal would fall through?

In terms of why a transaction would fall through, this is usually due to a mismatch between the requirements of a buyer and the requirements of a seller. And so, in order to mitigate this risk, we try to negotiate our contracts so they are fair and that they cover all of the points that each party requires, whilst also protecting Jetcraft’s interests.

Do you think there is equality of bargaining power between buyers and sellers?

I would say that the bargaining power, between a buyer and a seller varies, transaction to transaction. Sometimes we find that a buyer is in a very strong position. At other times we can find that a seller has a lot of interest in their aircraft and therefore they are in a position where they can entertain multiple offers, and it becomes a bit of a buying frenzy. Our objective as legal counsel is to ensure that the transaction is fair and that the interests of our party are protected and that is paramount for us.

How do you make sure deals are closed on time?

In order to ensure a timely closing on our transactions we make sure that in our purchase agreements the timelines are built in so that we know what is expected of a buyer or a seller at a certain point in the transaction life cycle.

For us, that means we ensure that our documents are placed with the relevant escrow agent in advance of closing, and ensuring that there is communication throughout the transaction with either the buyer or the seller.