SCI’s 3rd Annual Esoteric ABS Seminar will explore key developments across multiple esoteric asset classes, including digital infrastructure, energy, IP rights, transportation and corporate finance. The event will address the growing role of securitisation in data centres and 5G infrastructure, the consolidation of music royalty ABS, and the factors driving the recovery of aircraft-backed deals in 2025. Discussions will also assess the outlook for solar ABS deals, the role of private credit in oil and gas financing, and the challenges facing renewable energy amid changing policies and demand shifts. Transparency, standardisation, and data availability will be central themes as investors seek more reliable reporting and valuation methods in this evolving space.
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The agenda is subject to change
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12:55 - 13:00Welcome Note & Opening Remarks -
13:00 - 13:55Energy ABS- We hear headlines every day about increasing energy demand and grid strain due to the expansion of data centers. What are the key investment and financing challenges associated with this growth?
- How can the ABS market play a role in funding energy infrastructure while balancing cost concerns for consumers?
- How are oil & gas issuers, solar ABS originators and solar warehouse lenders adjusting to higher-for-longer rate environments?
- What can activity levels by solar originators tell us about the strength of the consumer and their expectations for energy costs?
- Many states now have utility securitization / rate reduction bond statutes in place, are there new uses for these statutes that you think we will see in the future, for example, increasing grid capacity or grid monitoring in connection with the build out of data centers?
- Given the record levels of issuance in recent years, how have utility securitizations performed?
- How are you seeing private credit influence the ABS buyer base?
- As spreads tighten, are investors finding additional yield in warehousing, forward flow or other equity investments in originators?
Panel Includes:
Emeka Ngwube, Credit Agricole CIB (Moderator)
Rasool E. Alizadeh, Coventry Structured Investments
John Siris, Cantor Fitzgerald
Daniel Michaelson, Kramer Levin
Robert Sannicandro, Deutsche Bank
Jonathan Ayre, Orrick
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13:55 - 14:50Digital infrastructure- How are you advising issuers in the data center space between the ABS and CMBS markets? What advantages and disadvantages does each market offer?
- Now that fiber transactions have spanned wholesale, enterprise, and residential fiber, - where are investors finding relative value across these sectors?
- Tower paper is always in high demand – do you anticipate increased tower issuance in the future? What about small cell deployments?
- How do investors differentiate between hyperscale and colocation data centers in master trust structures?
- With more rating agencies entering the digital infrastructure space, particularly data centers, how has this been received by investors?
- How are investors and issuers responding to the rapid expansion of AI-driven demand? Are developments like DeepSeek seen as a catalyst or a risk?
- Where do you see opportunities for ABS issuance outside of the U.S., and what challenges—regulatory, demand-driven, or otherwise—must be addressed?
Panel Includes:
Patrick Campbell, Milbank (Moderator)
Kelly Mellecker, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Everett Bruer, Fitch Ratings
Beth Starr, Truist Securities
Lillian Y. Wang, New York Life Investors
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15:10 - 16:00IP Rights & Royalties ABS- Does the lack of granularity within asset classes and limited data transparency hinder market growth? How can this be addressed to expand beyond music and drug royalties?
- What are the prospects for 2025 and beyond? Will there be more public securitization?
- Will we see an uptick in public issuance of IP royalties ABS in 2025, particularly in the music and athlete sectors in 2025? What factors are driving potential growth?
- How do evolving monetization rights (NIL, athlete sponsorships, and emerging content licensing models) shape IP securitization?
- Is the market developing greater skills in these assets – financial, legal and regulatory etc? What more needs to be done?
Panel Includes:
Marta Canini, SCI (Moderator)
Priya Desai, MetLife Investment Management
Jake Dalpiaz, Blackstone
Yezdan Badrakhan, MUFG
Robert Horowitz, Vistina Structured Credit
Douglas Lipton, GreensLedge
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16:00 - 16:50Corporate Solutions ABS- Beyond franchise models, where else can whole business securitization structures be effectively applied? What key characteristics make a business well-suited for this approach?
- How has enthusiasm for triple net leases and credit tenant leases among investors grown and why? What is the market outlook for these type of ABS structures?
- How can unrated structured private credit be added to an issuer’s toolbox of financing options? What advantages and disadvantages does it offer over more traditional sources?
- What other corporate and hybrid solutions are you seeing? Examples include structured preferred equity and structured mezzanine solutions along with associated “back leverage.”
- Will yield co’s and JVs become a compliment for the ABS market?
- With ‘higher for longer’ rates, how is the balance shifting between traditional bank lending and private credit? What new opportunities or risks does this present for structured finance?
Panel Includes:
Matt Hays, Latham & Watkins LLP (Moderator)
Maura Miraglia, ATLAS SP Partners
Katrina Niehaus, Evercore
Thomas Prommer, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
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17:10 - 18:00Transportation ABS: Aircraft, Leasing, Shipping & Trucks- What factors are contributing to the revival of the aircraft ABS market in 2025? How have changes in global air traffic and aircraft demand influenced this trend?
- Transparency in valuations has historically been a challenge in aircraft ABS. How has the market addressed this issue since 2023/2024, and what solutions have proven most effective?
- Are private markets offering a more efficient alternative to traditional transport ABS? What are the trade-offs in cost, speed, and investor demand?
- Are investors getting more comfortable with the use of proxy data in an asset class where there is a lack of concrete issuance data? What steps are issuers taking to get them to be more comfortable?
- Which sub-sectors (aircraft, equipment leasing, container shipping, trucking) are positioned for the highest growth in 2025, and what factors are driving investor interest?
Panel Includes:
Alexandra Johnson, Milbank (Moderator)
Evan Wallach, Global AirFinance Services, Inc
Joel E. Weinberger, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Kalash Pandey, Goldman Sachs
Dimitrios Kotinis, Altavair L.P
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