Cody J. McDavis

Cody McDavis is a member of the firm’s Global Transportation Finance team.

He represents airlines, operating lessors, private equity sponsors, commercial banks, and other institutional investors in complex domestic and international aviation and transportation finance transactions. His practice focuses on aircraft fleets and leasing platforms, including joint venture vehicles and traditional loan and lease products, and also covers rail and next-generation electric aircraft and air taxi platforms (often referred to as eVTOL). Cody’s work spans the full life cycle of a transaction, from initial structuring and term sheet negotiation to documentation, execution, and post-closing portfolio matters. He regularly leads transactions involving assets and parties in Ireland, the Cayman Islands, Singapore, the United States, Mexico, Canada, and key European markets, including the UK and France.

Cody has advised on equipment financings and the formation of new leasing and joint venture platforms totaling several billion dollars in value. His work includes traditional secured and unsecured credit facilities, sale-leasebacks, international operating leases, asset-backed and warehouse financings, and portfolio acquisitions and sales, including buying and selling entire leasing platforms and joint venture businesses in addition to single-asset deals. He also helps design and implement tax-efficient joint venture platforms, particularly those using Irish and Cayman Islands structures. On these matters, he works closely with tax advisors, local counsel, and business teams to coordinate documents and close across time zones. He is known for his commercial judgment, responsiveness, and ability to keep complex deals moving under tight timelines.

A former Division I athlete, Cody is nationally recognized for his thought leadership and policy work on NCAA amateurism and pay-for-play legislation. His advocacy and commentary have appeared in national forums shaping the future of collegiate athletics.

Experience

• Acting for a U.S.-based air carrier in a multi-aircraft purchase and sale-leaseback program with a U.S. equipment finance lessor, including coordinating aircraft deliveries across jurisdictions and closing related financing arrangements.
• Acting for a global asset manager in the formation of a multi-jurisdictional aircraft leasing joint venture with an international aircraft lessor, using Irish and Cayman Islands platforms, profit-participating notes, and multi-tier corporate structures to support the acquisition and financing of commercial aircraft portfolios.
• Acting for a U.S.-based private equity sponsor in the sale of interests in an aircraft leasing joint venture to a global institutional investor, including the use of Irish special purpose vehicles and profit-participating notes and coordination with local counsel in multiple international jurisdictions.
• Acting for a U.S.-based air carrier in the negotiation of a long-term global maintenance agreement with a major aircraft manufacturer for a new aircraft fleet.
• Advising investors and operators on the structuring and financing of next-generation electric aircraft and air taxi (eVTOL) platforms, including purchase, lease and support arrangements across multiple jurisdictions.
• Acting for North American railcar lessors in multiple portfolio sales of freight railcars to institutional buyers, including fleets of tank cars on lease to industrial shippers, negotiation of commodity and use restrictions, and multi-jurisdictional lien, title, and registration work in the United States and Canada.