A New York court has sent subpoenas to Etihad and ratings agency Fitch this week seeking a document at the centre of a battle over $1.2 billion in debt issued by the Abu Dhabi carrier and airlines it partly owned, according to legal documents reviewed by Reuters. Investors, including fixed-income specialist BlueBay Asset Management, are seeking access to a “debt assumption agreement” signed by Etihad and Alitalia, the Italian carrier, in 2016, before Alitalia went bankrupt. Etihad issued bonds in 2015 and 2016 through an Amsterdam-based special purpose vehicle, EA Partners (EAP), which then distributed the money to Etihad and other airlines, including Alitalia. According to EAP filings with the London stock exchange and a Fitch report in May 2017, Etihad agreed to cover the debt owed by Alitalia under the debt assumption agreement. The investors believe the document will help them recover part of the money they invested in the bonds and sought access to it in a lawsuit filed on June 16 with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge P. Kevin Castel approved their request and subpoenas were hand delivered to registered agents of Fitch and Etihad in New York ordering them to disclose the debt agreement. They each have until July 7 to respond to the order or object.
