‘At the forefront of the market in terms of technology and terms’, Allen & Overy LLP provides ‘very high service quality’ to a lender-focused client base that includes its well-established cadre of commercial/investment banks, as well as a growing roster of credit funds. The firm’s flexibility and aptitude at advising on debt products throughout the capital structure, including bank and bond mandates, is a hallmark of the practice, as is its ability to leverage vast international resources on complex cross-border transactions. The ‘excellent‘ Denise Gibson is one of many within a ‘deep, high quality bench’ of lawyers focusing on lender mandates and is noted for her aptitude at handling both sponsor-led matters, as well as corporate-driven acquisition finance mandates. Drawing on a raft of experience in private practice, as well as in secondee roles at banking institutions, Matt Moore is highly attuned to the commercial needs of lender clients, including on structured growth market transactions and other event-driven financings. As well as her conventional acquisition finance strength, Annette Kurdian‘s varied practice also includes niche expertise advising on cross-over leveraged/infrastructure deals, in addition to working on distressed mandates. Although the firm is better-known for its lender credentials, this should by no means detract from a strong borrower practice, which, under the guidance of the ‘exceptionally commercial, knowledgeable and experienced’ Robin Harvey continues to handle new money deals for myriad sponsor clients, as well as providing refinancing assistance for portfolio companies in a challenging economic climate. At a more junior level, the ‘technically knowledgeable and very responsive’ Neil Sinha and Vanessa Xu have also been pivotal to building up the firm’s private equity brand, with both also noted for their ‘strong execution skills’. Gibson co-heads the leveraged finance team alongside Nicholas Clark, who has been central to the firm’s growth in the private credit space, including work for direct lenders on unitranche financing. Philip Bowden also still manages to maintain a vibrant transactional practice (both on leveraged and investment grade acquisition finance deals) alongside his managerial duties as global banking head.
Acquisition finance in London
Allen & Overy LLP
Responsables de la pratique:
Denise Gibson; Nicholas Clark
Autres avocats clés:
Robin Harvey; Philip Bowden; Simon Roberts; David Campbell; Greg Brown; Cathy Bell-Walker; James Graham; Annette Kurdian; Robert Burt; Oleg Khomenko; Matt Moore; Neil Sinha; Darren Hanwell; Adam Zecharia; Vanessa Xu; Jane Glancy; Megan Lawrence; Hannah Gates; Nick Hallam; Alice Smith; Dominique Crowley
Les références
‘Very strong execution, technical knowledge, very responsive and good at negotiation.’
‘At the forefront of the market in terms of technology and terms.’
‘Commercially minded, technical lawyers but know how to interact with clients i.e. deal with more technical legal points between lawyers, can explain and understand commercial implications for clients.’
Principaux clients
Ardian
Bridgepoint
Brookfield
CVC Capital Partners
Exponent Private Equity
Galileo Global Education
Hg Capital
PAI Partners
Providence Equity Partners
Waterland Private Equity
Principaux dossiers
Clifford Chance LLP
Drawing on 'huge market knowledge' and extensive international resources, Clifford Chance LLP remains a compelling proposition for creditors and debtors on big-ticket and complex leveraged and event-driven deals. Although the firm has gained market traction among credit funds, its strong and longstanding commercial/investment bank relationships continue to inform much of the deal flow, both in the leveraged market, as well as on corporate-led M&A deals. Emma Folds is one of many experienced partners in the team who is conversant with debt structures throughout the capital structure, deploying this knowledge to good effect across a range of transactions, running the gamut from sponsor-driven leveraged deals, through to restructurings and corporate lending mandates. In addition, along with Michael Bates and Julia House, she is also well-versed at handling infrastructure finance transactions. Dual UK and Sweden-qualified partner Peter Dahlen has strong knowledge of leveraged finance transactions, utilising both bank and credit fund-sourced debt, and has a particular niche advising on Nordic deals. While lender work remains the lifeblood of the practice, under the guidance of Taner Hassan, the firm also continues to handle a considerable volume of significant private equity-led cross-border leveraged finance matters. Hassan co-heads the overarching banking and finance team alongside David Robson, whose lender-focused practice includes both leveraged and M&A financings.
Responsables de la pratique:
David Robson; Taner Hassan
Autres avocats clés:
Michael Bates; Peter Dahlen; Emma Folds; Jim MacHale; Nicholas Kinnersley; Thomas Critchley; Alexandra Dimsdale-Gill; Julia House; Richard Day
Les références
‘Huge market knowledge and very well set up to support banks.’
‘The firm provides a very slick service, everything you need is provided without having to ask for it.’
‘Julia House is a rising star in the infrastructure financing sector, who guided a large syndicate of banks through a very complicated infrastructure acquisition financing this year, combining expert advice, commercial pragmatism, slick delivery and good humour.’
Principaux clients
Cinven
Jaguar Land Rover
Apera Capital
Macquarie
BAML
Morgan Stanley
NatWest
EQT
Telefonica
Principaux dossiers
- Advised a global investment company in relation to its acquisition of Element Materials Technology Group (which generates annual revenues of c. USD 1 billion). The debt comprised a first lien TLB, acquisition and capex line and RCF; second lien debt; and holdco PIK. It included both EUR and USD currency tranches, with syndication out of London and New York.
- Advised Cinven and True Potential Group Limited (a technology-led wealth management company) on the financing for Cinven’s acquisition of True Potential, including a £675m bridge facility, which was refinanced through the issuance of sterling and euro senior secured notes, and a £100m revolving credit facility.
- Advised the mandated lead arrangers on the financing of Macquarie Asset Management and BCI’s investment in National Grid’s gas transmission and metering business.
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Under the leadership of the ‘vastly experienced and talented’ Stephen Lucas, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP has firmly positioned itself at the pinnacle of the leveraged finance market for an entirely sponsor-focused client base. Unencumbered by any banking ties, the team has been able to ‘push very aggressively’ on behalf of its borrower clients, enabling them to access pools of capital in spite of the periodic closures of the syndicated loan market. Christopher Shield is the lead relationship partner with a number of the largest and most active sponsors in the market, including Bain Capital and Advent, advising both on a raft of cross-border LBOs, as well as in relation to liability management issues. English and New York-law qualified partner Evgeny Zborovsky‘s broad practice covers both mid and large-ticket mandates, with his dual qualifications adding an enhanced level of versatility and a deeper understanding of the implementation of US terms in the European market. Other recommended partners include the ‘proactive and extremely professional’ Kirsteen Nicol, whose experience includes significant knowledge of syndicated and credit fund lending; Daniel Borg, whose cross-border expertise includes large take-private mandates, LBOs and bolt-on acquisitions; and James Boswell, for acquisition infrastructure finance matters. Neel Sachdev – one of the City’s most well-known leveraged finance partners – left to launch the English law practice at Paul Weiss in summer 2023 alongside partners including fellow banking specialist Kanesh Balasubramaniam.
Responsables de la pratique:
Stephen Lucas; Neel Sachdev
Autres avocats clés:
Christopher Shield; Kirsteen Nicol; Daniel Borg; James Boswell; Evgeny Zborovsky
Les références
‘They push very aggressively on terms for their clients.’
‘Stephen Lucas is vastly experienced and talented.’
‘Kirsteen Nicol is proactive, independent and extremely professional.’
Principaux clients
Accel-KKR
Advent International
Antin Infrastructure Partners
Apax Partners
Bain Capital
BC Partners
Blackstone Inc.
CapVest Partners
Cinven
CVC Capital Partners
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
Hg
Lone Star Funds (Hudson Advisors)
Partners Group
SK Capital
Summit Partners
TA Associates
Thoma Bravo
Vitruvian Partners
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Accel-KKR and its consortium partners on the financing for the Finnish take private of Basware Corporation by way of a voluntary recommended public cash tender offer. This deal was one of the first P2Ps in Finland to be funded with private debt.
- Advised Thoma Bravo on the financing for the Norwegian take private of Mercell Holding by way of a voluntary cash offer. The financing comprised a Unitranche and Super Senior RCF. This deal is a further example of Kirkland’s acquisition finance expertise in the Nordic take private market and underscores our cross-border credentials.
- Advised Groupe Bruxelles Lambert on the financing for the acquisition of Affidea. The financing comprised a TLB and RCF.
Latham & Watkins
The versatile and balanced practice at Latham & Watkins has the strength-in-depth to handle a tremendous volume and range of work for creditors and debtors funding acquisitions utilising debt from the thriving private credit and the syndicated/institutional investor markets. Consequently, the firm, which also has broad international resources in Europe and its US headquarters, has an excellent perspective of market norms and “pinch points” from both sides of the table, and in the recent volatile market has been a welcome ‘oasis of knowledge’ for lenders and sponsors. Stephen Kensell and Sam Hamilton are two of the most well-respected practitioners in the market, with Kensell providing succour to lenders providing debt to both corporates and sponsors on their M&A activity, and Hamilton drawing on a wealth of experience for sponsors across myriad finance products. Dominic Newcomb and Jayanthi Sadanandan are also both highly skilled at handling borrower work, with both sponsors and corporates benefiting from their wealth of knowledge on funding solutions throughout the capital structure. On the creditor front, Dan Maze has strong traction for banking and credit fund clients, as does Manoj Bhundia. Tania Bedi , whose versatile client base includes banks, funds and corporates, co-heads the overarching finance team alongside Maze. Joseph Kimberling is also recommended. A four-strong team of lawyers including Mohamed Nurmohamed and Ross Anderson left for Paul Hastings LLP in summer 2022.
Responsables de la pratique:
Tania Bedi; Dan Maze
Autres avocats clés:
Charles Armstrong; Sam Hamilton; Joseph Kimberling; Dominic Newcomb; Fergus O’Domhnaill; Jay Sadanandan; Ben Wright; Manoj Bhundia; Stephen Kensell; Ross Pooley; Hendrik Smit
Les références
‘The team is an oasis of knowledge across a range of debt finance products.’
‘What makes Latham unique is the breadth and depth of the firm’s capabilities and expertise, and how efficiently they bring these capabilities to bear for a transaction. We worked with Latham on a complex, cross-border debt and equity financing…the team’s debt experts were able to come up with a unique strategy to efficiently get security on assets in key jurisdictions, and were also able to creatively engineer our complex structured instrument. Latham also brought in its tax experts to advise extensively, which was critical to the structuring of a complex, cross-border financing. Latham had an answer for everything, and did it in a coordinated, efficient manner’
‘Hendrik Smit was an absolute pleasure to work with. There was no problem he couldn’t solve, and no matter how complex the transaction became, he was never discouraged, maintained the same positive can-do attitude, and always came up with an elegant solution.’
Principaux clients
Goldman Sachs
JP Morgan
Bank of America
Barclays
BNPP
Morgan Stanley
Deutsche Bank
Blackstone Credit
Ares Management
HSBC
KKR Asset Management
Astorg Partners
Nordic Capital
Brookfield Asset Management
Partners Group
CVC
Bridgepoint
Platinum Equity
Onex
EQT Partners
TA Associates
Ares Management Ltd
Energy Capital Partners
Principaux dossiers
Linklaters LLP
Drawing on expertise across pure leveraged finance, corporate lending, structured finance and restructuring, the ‘extremely efficient and collaborative’ team at Linklaters LLP provides ‘high-quality work’ across the full range and life cycle of financial transactions to banks, funds and investment grade corporates. This versatile and holistic approach ensures that it is ‘able to deliver at an extremely high level on a hugely complicated breadth of transactions’, running the gamut from bank and bond structures, and TLBs, through to unitranche facilities and PIK financings. The ‘highly commercial’ Oliver Sceales has deep traction among sponsors, which are appreciative of his ability to ‘deliver market leading terms in an incredibly user friendly and dynamic fashion’. Lauded for his ‘commercial acumen and constructive approach’, Pathik Gandhi ‘is well respected by the lender community’, ensuring that he is a popular choice both on leveraged finance deals, where he is instructed bank side, as well as where the lender is a counterparty. Chris Medley excels in providing lender side advice on sponsor-backed leveraged deals, both for banks on large underwritten TLB transactions, as well as for credit funds on unitranche financings. Other recommended practitioners include seasoned banking lawyer Nick Syson , whose work at the vanguard of the market has included the development of the now well-established European cov-lite leveraged loan product; Rohan Saha, for his work across products for banks and credit funds; and David Irvine, who co-heads the leveraged finance practice alongside Sceales.
Responsables de la pratique:
David Irvine; Oliver Sceales; Toby Grimstone; Oliver Edwards
Autres avocats clés:
Nick Syson; Chris Medley; Andrew Jennens; Pathik Gandhi; Rohan Saha; Angus Graham; Thomas Waller; James Martin; Ian Callaghan; William Evans; Caroline Courtney; Sam Mahboubian; Jo Jimenez; Daniel Peach; Tarini Wettimuny; Nikhita Suria; Lizanne Blair; Atish Shah; Shao-Ling Angoh
Les références
‘This extremely efficient and collaborative team provides high-quality work.’
‘They are able to deliver at an extremely high level on a hugely complicated breadth of transaction structures, timelines and negotiating dynamics.’
‘They are a market leading practice – technically excellent, powerfully commercial and extremely responsive.’
Principaux clients
Apollo
Arcmont
Bank of America
Barclays
BNP Paribas
Brookfield
Carlyle
Cerberus
Citibank, N.A.
Credit Agricole
CVC
Deutsche Bank
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs PE
Hayfin
Hg
Hillhouse
HSBC Bank Plc
J.P. Morgan
MUFG Bank, Ltd.
PAI
Triton
Principaux dossiers
- Advised the arrangers, bookrunners and lenders on the €2,075m cov-lite TLB senior financing, €375m revolving credit facility and €470m second lien financing supporting CVC’s acquisition of Ekaterra B.V. from Unilever.
- Advised Aristocrat Leisure Limited (Aristocrat) in relation to the financing of its recommended cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Playtech plc.
- Advised Citi and Société Générale as joint underwriters, mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on a £4.1bn acquisition bridge facility for Schneider Electric SE.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP remains a very popular choice for its strong and loyal private equity client base, which are appreciative of the firm’s ability to elicit the most favourable terms, utilising the full spectrum of financial products, from bank and bond financings through to unitranche facilities. Clients also benefit from the team’s deep knowledge of US-style documentation, with New York-qualified practitioners in London well-placed to advise on European terms which increasingly mirror those more typically found in the US leveraged market. Although the firm’s mainstream leveraged finance work has suffered something of a dip in volume levels, particularly on high-value bank and bond financings, the team – as well as handling a significant volume of liability management work – has also been well hedged by virtue of its prowess working on infrastructure financings. Shahpur Kabraji is the key name to note. Former practice head Ian Barratt and partner Sinead O’Shea left in October 2023.
Autres avocats clés:
Shahpur Kabraji
Principaux clients
AlpInvest
Apax Partners
Aston Martin Lagonda
Blackrock
Blackstone Capital Partners
Blackstone Infrastructure Partners
Blackstone Real Estate Partners
Bridgepoint
Bruin Capital
Carlyle
Cinven
CVC
Equitix
Flutter Entertainment
FSN Capital
Goldman Sachs
Greyhound
Hedosophia
H.I.G. Capital
Intertrust
InvestIndustrial
J.P. Morgan
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
KSL
Lone Star
Oakley
Silver Lake Partners
Stonepeak Partners
TDR Capital
Trill Impact
Voyage Care
Principaux dossiers
- Represented KKR on the unitranche financing for its acquisition of APRIL Group, including in excess of €1bn of new debt facilities.
- Represented Edizione and Blackstone Infrastructure Partners on the financing for their acquisition of Atlantia, with an enterprise value of approximately €58bn, pursuant to a public takeover transaction.
- Representing MasMovil (including its shareholders KKR, Cinven and Providence Equity) and the joint venture co-controlled by Orange and MasMovil on the financing for the announced combination of MasMovil and Orange Spain.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP
Drawing on deep product knowledge throughout the capital structure and taking on instructions from a balanced roster of debtor and creditor-side clients across the spectrum of deal sizes, Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP‘s banking practice has maintained strong deal flow in spite of the economic and geopolitical headwinds facing the market. On the borrower front, Tom Richards has strong ties with many large private equity sponsors, including Advent and Bain Capital, which are appreciative of his willingness to fight their corner on deals whether or not the firm itself was involved in the underlying corporate aspects of the M&A. On the lender side, as well as her deep connections with commercial/investment banking clients, Reena Gogna has also successfully broadened her practice to include work for a myriad of private credit funds. Other recommended practitioners include Alastair McVeigh, for credit fund work, and Paul Hibbert for infrastructure finance, as well as practice co-head Chris McLaughlin.
Responsables de la pratique:
Chris McLaughlin; Tom Richards; Reena Gogna
Autres avocats clés:
Paul Hibbert; Paul Stewart; Alastair McVeigh
Principaux clients
Bain Capital
Advent International
Ardian
Montagu
A&M Capital Europe
OMERS
Permira
CVC
PAI Partners
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Sculptor Capital
Ares Management
Arcmont
Alcentra
Apollo Management
Goldman Sachs
PSP
KKR
Mudrick Capital
Permira/Permira Credit
HPS
Principaux dossiers
Milbank
Led by the ‘astute and tenacious’ Suhrud Mehta, the ‘very knowledgeable’ team at Milbank ‘has a good understanding of the market’ across both bank and bond financings, as well as on direct lending products. Consequently, it is a popular choice among leading banks (UBS and Goldman Sachs) and credit funds (KKR Credit and CVC Credit), where it is appreciated for its European and US high yield and loans expertise, in particular. Sarbajeet Nag continues his upward trajectory in the market, and is noted for his technical and commercial nous for lenders utilising debt products throughout the credit spectrum to facilitate sponsor-backed and corporate-led acquisition finance deals. As well as her conventional leveraged finance prowess, Alexandra Grant is well regarded for infrastructure financings.
Responsables de la pratique:
Suhrud Mehta
Autres avocats clés:
Alexandra Grant; Sarbajeet Nag; Laura Bonamis
Les références
‘The professional team is very knowledgeable and has a good understanding of the market.’
‘It is a very impressively built team covering bank and bond products and has good market penetration.’
‘An astute and tenacious operator, Suhrud Mehta is on top of current market trends.’
Principaux clients
Goldman Sachs
Bank of America
Barclays
UBS
BNP Paribas
Citigroup
Credit Suisse
RBC / NatWest
Jefferies
SoftBank
Park Square
KKR Credit
Carlyle Credit
HPS
CVC Credit
Principaux dossiers
- Advising lenders providing the debt financing package in support of Bain Capital’s joint ownership agreement for Fedrigoni with BC Partners.
- Advising the financing sources on Brookfield Infrastructure’s £4bn acquisition of Homeserve plc.
- Advising the lenders on Energy Capital Partners £1.3bn acquisition of Biffa plc.
Paul Hastings LLP
Paul Hastings LLP has been on upward trajectory in the leveraged finance market for the last decade, with a series of astute recent hires reaching its apogee in 2022 with the recruitment of a team of high-profile finance lawyers from top-tier outfit Latham & Watkins. Consequently, the firm now has the critical mass and product knowledge, particularly in the big-ticket lender side bank and bond market (where it is well-versed in advising on European and US-style documentation), to provide a truly credible alternative to its magic circle and white shoe US firm competitors. Luke McDougall has been at the forefront of the firm’s push for increased market visibility and remains a popular choice among leading investment/commercial banks on large underwritten deals. He now co-heads the team alongside new recruits Ross Anderson and Mohamed Nurmohamed, who are both able to draw on significant cross-border leveraged finance experience across a diverse array of financial products. The ‘unassuming but super effective’ Adrian Chiodo is also a valued member of the team and is effectively able to leverage his New York and English law qualifications for a lender-focused client base that includes a substantial number of credit funds.
Responsables de la pratique:
Luke McDougall; Mo Nurmohamed; Ross Anderson
Autres avocats clés:
Karan Chopra; Peter Hayes; Adrian Chiodo; Rob Davidson
Les références
‘Top breadth and depth. One of the best in the market.’
‘Great ability to pin-point only the items that matter.’
‘Adrian Chiodo is an unassuming but super effective lawyer.’
Principaux clients
Goldman Sachs
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Morgan Stanley
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank
Sixth Street
KKR
JP Morgan
Ares
Barings
HSBC
Barclays
Golub
Jefferies
CVC Credit
Apollo
BNP Paribas
Nordea
Pemberton
Principaux dossiers
- Acted for 12 banks and six funds delivering a capital structure comprising a senior secured TLB and RCF, privately placed SUNs, PIK notes and preference shares, totaling around $2.3bn in connection with Advent/Cobham’s public-to-private acquisition of Ultra plc.
- Advised 12 banks on a €1.15bn bank underwritten first lien financing and four funds on a €265m privately placed second lien facility for the purchase by Advent International, of Caldic BV from Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), and the simultaneous merger of Caldic with Advent’s portfolio company, Grupo Transmerquim S.A.
- Represented Mizuho, as fronting bank, and Kroll, as agent, in relation to an incremental facility to the senior facilities agreement entered into in connection with Advent Fund 8’s acquisition of Mediq.
White & Case LLP
The ‘very responsive’ team at White & Case LLP has ‘strong expertise in leveraged finance’ for lenders and borrowers, which are appreciative of its versatility structuring deals utilising debt throughout the capital structure, including US/UK financings. The ‘exceptional’ Jeremy Duffy has excellent traction among core firmwide banking clients, including Deutsche Bank, which he has recently advised on the debt financing to facilitate several separate data centre acquisitions. The ‘very approachable and knowledgeable’ Richard Lloyd is well-versed in a range of debt products, including bank/bond, syndicated and second lien, and regularly works alongside Duffy on key bank-side cross-border leveraged finance transactions. Under the guidance of UK and US-qualified partner Gareth Eagles, the team has also established a market-leading offering on the direct lending front for leading fund clients including CVC Credit and Bridgepoint Credit. Martin Forbes takes the lead on much of the most significant borrower-side work, primarily on behalf of private equity sponsors.
Responsables de la pratique:
Colin Harley -EMEA Head of Banking; Jeremy Duffy – EMEA Head of Bank Lending; Gareth Eagles – Global Head of Direct Lending; Martin Forbes – EMEA Head of Borrower Finance
Autres avocats clés:
Chris Czarnocki; Emma Foster; James Hardy; Richard Lloyd; Shane McDonald; Nicola Chapman; Catherine West; Oliver Trotman; Sophie Rezki; Man Hay Yip; Prema Govind
Les références
‘The team is very responsive.’
‘The team has strong expertise in leveraged finance, great accuracy in drafting and ability to arrange workflows also for other parties at the table.’
‘They have a fantastic knowledge of leverage finance, real estate finance, infrastructure and data centre.’
Principaux clients
Apollo Global Management
Afreximbank
Africa Finance Corporation
AGP Group
ASK Chemicals Group
Ali Group
Bridgepoint Credit
Credit Suisse
CVC Credit
Deutsche Bank
DNB Bank ASA
Goldman Sachs
Jefferies
JP Morgan
Nordea Bank
Puma Energy International
Royal Bank of Canada
Santander
SEB
Societe Generale
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Natixis
UBS
N+P Beheer B.V.
Ocorian Limited
Triton Investment Management Limited
The Carlyle Group
Inflexion Private Equity Partners
CVC Capital Partners
Puma Energy
Oaktree Capital Management
Principaux dossiers
- Representation of Ali Group in connection with its $4.8bn acquisition of Welbilt, Inc., a US public company.
- Representation of Triton Investment Management Limited on the £775m financing to facilitate the £1.2bn recommended takeover offer for Clinigen Group plc.
- Advised Ares Management and SEB, as lenders, in relation to Nordic Capital’s and CVC Funds’ public-to-private acquisition of Cary Group, a Nasdaq Stockholm listed company.
Ashurst
Drawing on longstanding banking relationships and the strength of its position as an early mover in the credit fund market, Ashurst is well-placed to provide ‘pragmatic and efficient’ advice to lenders providing liquidity to corporates and sponsors within the mid-to-upper-mid-market acquisition finance market, in particular. Ross Ollerhead ‘gets what lenders care about’ and has been pivotal to the firm’s strong standing in the private credit field, gaining a foothold with many funds, including BlackRock and Pemberton, on both new money situations, as well as in a distressed scenario. ‘Top finance lawyer’ Doug Murning provides ‘very market-savvy’ advice to credit funds on both pure LBO mandates, as well as in special situations, work which he combines with a niche net asset value (NAV) lending offering. Laura Ho ‘has strong technical skills and displays a balanced approach’ for both credit funds as lenders, as well as for a sponsor-focused client base on infrastructure finance deals. Newly appointed London office managing partner Helen Burton and senior partner Nigel Ward are also hugely experienced practitioners within the team. Mark Edwards heads the overarching banking team.
Responsables de la pratique:
Mark Edwards
Autres avocats clés:
Doug Murning; Helen Burton; Nigel Ward; Laura Ho; Ross Ollerhead; Tamsin Crawford
Les références
‘The team is really responsive, pragmatic and efficient.’
‘It is a very joined up team that is on top of market terms and well-thought of by counter parties.’
‘Top finance lawyer Doug Murning is very market-savvy and fights your corner.’
Principaux clients
Agilitas Private Equity
Amalfi Bidco Limited
Apollo
Arcmont Asset Management
Avenue Capital
AVEVA Group plc
Bain Capital Credit
Barings Asset Management
BlackRock
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Crescent Capital Group, L.P.
Davidson Kempner
HayFin
HSBC
ICG
JP Morgan
KKR
LGT
National Australia Bank
Pemberton
Permira Debt Managers
RBS
RPC
Symphony Technology Group
Tresmares Capital
Principaux dossiers
- Advising Amalfi Bidco Limited in relation to its recommended cash and share acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of CareTech Holdings PLC.
- Advising the Midco underwriters supporting Infrastructure Investments Fund, an investment vehicle advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, on its c. $4bn acquisition of G+E GETEC Holding GmbH
- Acting for Arcmont Asset Management, Goldman Sachs, KKR and Tresmares Capital on the senior secured and PIK holdco financing of the acquisition of esPublico Servicios para la Administracion, S.A., by Groupesp Holdings, S.L.U. (backed by TA Associates).
Dechert LLP
Following the recent retirement from the partnership of John Markland, Dechert LLP‘s work for its fund-focused client base focuses almost entirely on their role as lenders on acquisition finance mandates. In this context, practice co-heads David Miles and Philip Butler have a ‘great depth of knowledge’, having been involved from the earliest days of the growth of the product, with both capable of handling a range of deals across sectors and quantum for key clients including Ares and Barings. Clients are also appreciative of the overarching ‘team dynamic’, as well as the ‘ability to bring in resources and expertise from other areas of the firm as needed during the course of a transaction’. Smridhi Gulati joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in April 2023.
Responsables de la pratique:
Philip Butler; David Miles
Autres avocats clés:
Giles Belsey; Sarah Moffat; Bishoy Eskander
Les références
‘We trust the Dechert team with our most complex transactions. Their ability to bring in resources and expertise from other areas of the firm as needed during the course of a transaction is invaluable.’
‘The depth of knowledge of the partners and their ability to foresee potential issues and tackle them up front are key.’
‘The team dynamic is excellent and we are routinely impressed by how capable and knowledgeable the senior associates and associates are.’
Principaux clients
Ares Management Limited
Baring Asset Management
CVC Credit Partners
Blackstone Credit
BlackRock
Kartesia
Tikehau
Alcentra
Apollo Asset Management
Permira Credit
LGT Private Debt (UK) Limited
Metric Capital
Cordet Capital
Principaux dossiers
- Acted for Ares Management in connection with its provision of debt funding to support the acquisition of Butlins Skyline Limited by Zenit (Bidco) Limited (a newco formed by the Harris family) from Bourne Leisure Limited (a Blackstone portfolio company).
- Represented longstanding client Barings on the funding to support the acquisition of a majority stake in the CitNOW Group by Livingbridge.
- Advised Kartesia on their provision of debt facilities to a newly incorporated entity (SPV) wholly owned by HIG P.E. to finance the SPV’s acquisition of CPS Building Services.
Hogan Lovells International LLP
The ‘extremely approachable and knowledgeable’ team at Hogan Lovells International LLP provides ‘exceptional client service’ to a creditor-focused client base that includes a high proportion of credit funds engaged in lending within the mid to-upper-mid market. Team head Paul Mullen has been instrumental to the firm’s growth in this area, and his broad transactional nous, that includes expertise across a range of direct lending products, means the firm is also regularly instructed to advise clients on developing new and innovative products in the market. Jo Robinson also has significant experience in the space, particularly in relation to the unitranche product, as does the ‘very user friendly’ Francis Booth. The firm also continues to handle work for conventional banks, with vastly experienced practitioners Penny Angell , who also serves as UK managing partner, and Matthew Cottis particularly skilled in relation to the financing of regulated insurance companies.
Responsables de la pratique:
Paul Mullen
Autres avocats clés:
Matthew Cottis; Penny Angell; Jo Robinson; Francis Booth; Scott Gibson
Les références
‘Extremely approachable and knowledgeable. Strong ability to distil more complex legal points in to more simple explanations.’
‘Strong commercial acumen and willing to tell us as clients when to push harder, and understanding of counterparties to get the best deal for us.’
‘Exceptional client service is provided by everyone from the London managing partner down; vastly experienced and thoroughly professional. I could not rate them highly enough.’
Principaux clients
HSBC
Ares Management
Macquarie
Intermediate Capital Group
Five Arrows
Ardian
Tikehau Investment Managers
Park Square Capital
Principaux dossiers
- Advising Ares Management as lender on the £790m financing for a consortium of the CareTech founders and Three Hills Capital Partners to acquire CareTech Holdings plc.
- Advising AshGrove as lender in relation to term facilities provided to Zift in connection with its refinancing of existing indebtedness and advising in relation to the roll-through of the AshGrove facilities on the acquisition of Zift by Investcorp.
- Advised Ares as new lender to Sykes Cottages group for the refinancing of existing facilities provided by Bridgepoint Credit (formerly EQT) and the acquisition of the Forest Holidays group .
Macfarlanes LLP
Fund instructions form much of Macfarlanes LLP‘s acquisition finance work, whether it be work for credit funds lending to sponsors, or private equity funds as borrowers in M&A. In this context, the firm also benefits from a one-stop-shop service, having in some cases set up the original fund through its strong fund formation practice. Drawing on ‘superb legal knowledge and experience’, Malcolm Hitching has ‘the ability to think creatively and commercially’, ensuring that mid-market sponsors receive an excellent service on their leveraged finance mandates. Kirstie Hutchinson is also highly accomplished on behalf of fund clients as borrowers, while team head Andrew Perkins takes the lead in most of the firm’s most significant credit fund lender work.
Responsables de la pratique:
Andrew Perkins
Autres avocats clés:
Kirstie Hutchinson; Malcolm Hitching; Adam Caines
Les références
‘Their in-depth knowledge of the law on financial services is exceptional. They are client-oriented and pragmatic.’
‘Very strong people – the team is good at cross collaboration and bringing in the expertise you need from different parts of the firm as and when needed.’
‘Malcolm Hitching is a legal legend and a leader by example. He has an eye for detail, superb legal knowledge and experience.’
Principaux clients
PJT Partners LP
PSG Equity LLP
Angel Finco Limited
Preservation Capital Partners
Arcus European Investment Manager LLP
Gates Bidco Limited
Exponent
Isio Group Limited
August Equity
Alpha Bidco Limited
Principaux dossiers
Proskauer Rose LLP
Focused almost entirely on private credit fund-related work, the ‘highly experienced and commercial’ team at Proskauer Rose LLP has developed a market-leading offering for very active funds, including Ares and Alcentra, which are appreciative of its ‘ability to know when to push and when not to push depending on deal dynamics and the counterparties involved’. Although mid-market financings remain the cornerstone of the practice, it has successfully followed its clients, some of which are writing increasingly bigger cheques to facilitate M&A extending into the upper-mid-market and beyond. This was recently exemplified by the ‘attentive and commercial’ Alexander Griffith‘s and Harriet West ‘s advice to Ares on the financing for the “take-private” acquisition by Epiris and Astorg of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc. Faisal Ramzan co-heads the team alongside Griffith and is noted for his expertise at handling complex domestic and cross-border transactions, often involving multiple tranches of debt. Daniel Hendon is also recommended. Ben Davis joined Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP in July 2023.
Les références
‘The team is highly experienced in advising debt funds and has worked on several transactions for us. This is a broader and stronger team than most practices. It also has a positive culture and is enjoyable to work with.’
‘It is a large team predominantly focused on private credit funds, and therefore has a strong knowledge of market terms given its deal flow.’
‘The team is commercial and has the ability to know when to push and when not to push depending on deal dynamics and the counterparties involved.’
Principaux clients
Adams Street
Alcentra
Apera Asset Management
Apollo
Arcmont Asset Management Limited
Ardian
Ares Management
Ashgrove Capital
Bain Capital Credit
Barings
BlackRock
Blackstone Credit
Bridgepoint Credit
CDPQ
Cheyne
CORDET Capital
Crescent
First Eagle
General Atlantic Credit (formerly known as Atlantic Park)
GIC
Golub Capital
Goldman Sachs International
HarbourVest
HayFin
HPS (Highbridge)
ICG
Kartesia Management
KKR Credit
LGT
MidCap (part of Apollo)
M&G Investments
Monroe Capital
Muzinich & Co
Park Square
Pemberton
Phoenix Investments
Sixth Street Partners
Three Hills (THCP Advisory Limited)
Tikehau Investment Management
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Ares Management on the provision of approx. £1.7bn in financing for the “Take-Private” acquisition by Epiris and Astorg of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc.
- Represented General Atlantic Credit (whose investment strategy is to provide strategic partnership capital across both debt and equity structures) and GIC (a sovereign wealth fund in Singapore that manages its foreign reserves), in providing a bespoke €550m convertible loan agreement, which will mandatorily convert into ordinary shares of Cheplapharm AG (a leading German pharmaceutical company that markets branded drugs, medical products, supplements and cosmetics).
- Represented Goldman Sachs, a global leading investment lender, which supported TA Associates in the issuance of further PIK and senior financing (approx. €333m (with upsizes)) to support bolt-on acquisitions to be made by the Nactarome Group.
Addleshaw Goddard
Leveraging its well-established ties with clearing banks, as well as a number of alternative capital providers and private equity sponsors, Addleshaw Goddard has an excellent understanding of the requirements of both borrowers and lenders, which they are well-placed to assist on the financing of mid-market deals both from London and its regional offices. Team head Alex Dumphy is well-versed at structuring deals utilising debt throughout the capital structure, including senior debt facilities, unitranche funding, TLB facilities and super senior facilities. The team is also able to leverage the firm’s market-leading asset based lending (ABL) prowess to good effect, with ABL debt products increasingly being used alongside conventional leveraged debt products to fund M&A transactions.
Responsables de la pratique:
Alex Dumphy
Autres avocats clés:
Peter Crichton; Ewen Scott; Cerys Poolis
Les références
‘Extremely informed, very easy to deal with and always get partner access. Relative to their peers they are much more proactive in offering advice instead of us coming up with a solution.’
‘Ewen Scott and Alex Dumphy are at the “top end” of their profession. Both are excellent lawyers and two of the best in the mid-market leveraged finance space.’
‘We use them a lot and we believe AG are extremely good value for money. Not just through the price point, but the quality of support/advice associated with it. ‘
Principaux dossiers
Baker McKenzie
Drawing on deep knowledge across the spectrum of English and New York law-governed loans and bonds, including TLB, direct lending (both unitranche and US private placements) and high-yield bonds, Baker McKenzie‘s ‘highly engaged’ team is well-positioned to represent lenders and borrowers across a range of cross-border leveraged finance deals. Although the firm was weakened somewhat on the direct lending front following Matthew Smith‘s departure in April 2022 to Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, this was offset by the arrival in March 2023 from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (UK) LLP of Anthony Kay, whose broad leveraged finance practice includes some credit fund work. Ben Wilkinson is particularly effective at advising investment banks on cross-border acquisition finance deals with complex capital structures and has significant experience in transactions with a Nordic and German complexion. On the borrower front, Nick O’Grady is ‘an extremely competent acquisition finance lawyer’, as is the ‘extensively experienced’ Matthew Cox , who co-heads the team alongside Wilkinson.
Responsables de la pratique:
Ben Wilkinson; Matthew Cox
Autres avocats clés:
Nick O’Grady
Les références
‘The team is highly engaged and committed to projects but also good humoured and a great interface to work with, even when facing challenges on a deal.’
‘Nick O’Grady is an extremely competent acquisition finance lawyer. He is safe pair of hands who can be trusted to take care of everything but also knows which key points to raise with the sponsor for their input and sign-off on.’
‘Matthew Cox is extensively experienced in the industry and provides a higher level of advice and guidance to clients. He has the seniority and gravitas to step in when needed and drive solutions when negotiations risk reaching deadlock.’
Principaux clients
Bain Capital
FSN Capital
KKR
One Equity Partners
Keensight Capital
Top-tier mid-market infrastructure investment firm (the “Sponsor”)
Oceans Finance Company
Six Degrees Holdings
H.I.G. Capital
Bain Capital MKM
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Nordic sponsor FSN Capital Partners in connection with the partial refinancing of the €650m senior debt TLB debt financing used for FSN’s acquisition of Optigroup, Hygas and affiliates TPC and BFG (i.e. four acquisitions packaged into one), by way of the establishment of a new €200m second lien facility, provided by a single private credit fund, which refinanced some of the TLB.
- Advised Keensight Capital on the financing to facilitate its acquisition of Bedford Consultancy.
- Advised One Equity Partners (through its portfolio company Trustmarque) on the financing to facilitate its acquisition of leading UK software and cloud assets tech firm Livingstone Software.
Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP
Under the leadership of Jonathan Brownson the 'very knowledgeable' team at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP displays 'excellent commercial acumen' on behalf of a lender focused client base that includes many leading investment banks. Although it remains relatively new in the market and despite challenging conditions, it has already made strong in-roads into large ticket deals, which require an effective combination of underwritten loans and high yield bonds. Joydeep Choudhuri has also been key to the firm's early success as a result of his versatile finance offering, which includes work for conventional banks (including on bridge to bond and super senior revolving credit facilities), as well as a direct lending mandates for credit funds.
Responsables de la pratique:
Jonathan Brownson
Autres avocats clés:
Joydeep Choudhuri; Prue Criddle; Warren Newton; Anthony Tama
Les références
‘The team is very knowledgeable and displays excellent commercial acumen.’
‘They have a good bench of experienced lawyers.’
Principaux clients
UBS
Nomura Holdings
Natixis
Standard Chartered Bank
Unicredit
Mediobanca
PSP Investments
CVC Credit
Hayfin Capital Management LLP
Apollo Credit
ICG Capital
Barings
Blackrock
Bridgepoint Credit
GIC
Guggenheim Partners
Pemberton Asset Management
Crescent Capital
Fallaron Capital
JPMorgan
Citigroup
BNP Paribas
Citizen’s Bank, N.A
Petroleum Geo-Services AS
Deutsche Bank
Credit Suisse
HSBC
Jefferies
Carlyle Credit
Bridgepoint Credit
Park Square Capital
AlbaCore Capital
Sona Asset Management
Bank Santander
National Westminster Bank
KKR Capital Markets
IHS Holding Limited
Nordea
SEB
Partners Group
Danske Bank
Principaux dossiers
- Represented the lead arrangers and financial providers on the €600m senior secured bridge facility, revolving credit facility and term loan facility in connection with the acquisition by Apollo of Primafrio Corporation.
- Represented the lead Arrangers in connection with the term loan and revolving credit facilities (to be utilized for general corporate, capital expenditure and player acquisition purposes) provided to Chelsea FC, following its acquisition by the Boehly-led consortium, including Clearlake Capital.
- Represented the mandated lead arrangers in connection with the senior secured term loan facility and revolving credit facility in support of KKR’s acquisition of IVI-RMA.
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Drawing on ‘a deep understanding about the needs of private equity firms and their portfolio companies’, the ‘brilliant’ team at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a popular choice among borrowers by virtue of its ‘incredible knowledgeable of both bespoke finance arrangements and also the industry’. This manifests itself in the context of the team’s ability to provide a holistic offering to clients, drawing not only from core leveraged finance strength (including on New York and London-law governed products) but also its strong capability handling fund level financings. Alan Davies and Pierre Maugüé both regularly handle work for marquee client, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, and co-head the team alongside fund finance expert Thomas Smith .
Responsables de la pratique:
Alan Davies; Pierre Maugüé; Thomas Smith
Autres avocats clés:
Gregg Young; Almas Daud
Les références
‘Sophisticated and commercial advisers with a deep understanding about the needs of private equity firms and their portfolio companies.’
‘It is a fantastic team full of brilliant talent. They are incredibly knowledgeable about both bespoke finance arrangements and also the industry.’
‘The lawyers are incredibly smart and also down to earth.’
Principaux clients
Clayton Dubilier & Rice
WMG Acquisition Corp.
Charles Taylor Limited / Lovell Minnick Partners LLC
Pret a Manger
Resolution
B&M Retail
Morrisons
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) on the financing to facilitate its acquisition of Morrisons.
- Advised CD&R on its leveraged acquisitions of the OCS group and certain UK and APAC entities of the Atalian group to create a global facilities management platform.
- Acted as borrower counsel and represented Pret in a refinancing of their existing Senior Facilities.
DLA Piper
Drawing on strong and deep relationships with UK banks and borrowers, developed over many years’ engagement in the acquisition/leveraged finance space, both from London and its core regional offices, DLA Piper has significant visibility advising on mid-market deals. In this context, the ‘superb’ Neil Campbell continues to forge strong private equity relationships, while for lender work he is particularly active on tech-related mandates, including in the context of recurring revenue deals. As well as his work for corporates on their general financing needs, Mark Dwyer is also regularly instructed on their acquisition finance requirements and has considerable experience in financing UK public takeovers of listed companies. Toby Barker heads the team.
Responsables de la pratique:
Toby Barker
Autres avocats clés:
Mark Dwyer; Matt Christmas; Neil Campbell; Richard Normington; Mei Mei Wong; Lilly Alamir; Clara Fong;
Les références
‘Neil Campbell is superb.’
‘Matt Christmas is extremely approachable and experienced.’
‘Broad experience and strong team with wider global offering.’
Principaux clients
Azrieli Group
Green Mountain
Discovery Communications LLC
Heineken UK
Neqsol Holdings Limited
Workspace Group plc
Philip Morris Inc
Concord Music
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Azrieli Group, Israel’s largest real estate group, on the refinancing of its $850m acquisition of Norwegian data centre provider Green Mountain, and the financing considerations of Green Mountain’s expansion into the United Kingdom.
- Advising Concord Music, a leading independent music company, in connection with financing the purchase of the publishing and recorded music catalogues of Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, individually and as members of the band Genesis.
- Acted for Silicon Valley Bank and SVB Capital on senior/mezzanine leveraged acquisition financing provided to recapitalise Rydoo, a leading and innovative expense management system.
Mayer Brown International LLP
Led from London by Stuart Brinkworth and also able to leverage significant European and US resources from across its global network of offices, Mayer Brown International LLP is well-positioned to represent a borrower-focused client base in cross-border transactions utilising debt throughout the capital structure. Brinkworth is one of several within the team with deep knowledge of direct lending facilities (including unitranche), while the firm's broader structured finance/ABL expertise is also a valuable resource with which to structure complex M&A mandates, adding an increased level of flexibility.
Responsables de la pratique:
Stuart Brinkworth
Autres avocats clés:
Andy Kolacki; Andrew Crotty
Les références
‘Great depth and practical experience that are helpful not only from a legal perspective but also commercially.’
‘Stuart Brinkworth brings loads of experience that was invaluable.’
Principaux clients
Francisco Partners
Permira
EMK
Principaux dossiers
- Represented EMK Capital and its Israeli-based portfolio company, Bright Data, on the refinancing of its existing debt facilities and a dividend recapitalisation with a secured term facility provided by Silicon Valley Bank and Investec Bank.
Ropes & Gray LLP
Focused primarily on borrower-side work - particularly in light of ex-Goldman Sachs’ in-house counsel Carol Van der Vorst‘s move to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in September 2022 - Ropes & Gray LLP has deep knowledge in financings centred around both the syndicated public markets and highly structured private markets. As well as handling some work for sponsors, the team continues to regularly advise marquee clients, Altice and Liberty Global, on debt finance raising, including a considerable amount of acquisition finance due to their private equity-like instincts. The 'brilliant' Alex Robb is well-versed across a broad swathe of debt products, from unitranche to European TLB large-cap loans, and is a key member of the team that is headed by UK and New York law-qualified partner Michael Kazakevich.
Responsables de la pratique:
Michael Kazakevich
Autres avocats clés:
Alexander Robb; Alexandru Mocanu; Ana Biloglav; Jacob Bennet;Sean Darling; Luwam Mezue
Les références
‘The integrated practice across the US and UK is excellent.’
‘Alex Robb is a brilliant lawyer. He is fantastic technically, hard working and a clear thinker who delivers transactions under tight timelines with a commercial focus and good humour.’
‘Ropes & Gray has a market leading leveraged finance practice . The integrated practice across the US and UK is excellent.’
Principaux clients
3i
Altice International S.à r.l.
Altice USA
Arsenal Capital Partners
ASB Bank Limited
AtlasEdge
Avista Capital Partners
Bain Capital Credit
Barclays plc
Baring PE Asia
BNP Paribas
Bridgepoint
Bridgepoint Capital Limited
CSC Holdings LLC
Deutsche Bank
GHO Capital Partners
Goldman Sachs
J.P. Morgan
Liberty Global plc
Livingbridge LLP
New Altice Europe B.V. (formerly Altice Europe N.V.)
Permira Credit
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)
TSG Consumer Partners
UPC Holding
Virgin Media O2
XpFibre / XpFibre Network
Principaux dossiers
- Advised New Altice Europe on a $912m (combined equivalent) financing in connection with acquisitions by XpFibre Holding, a joint venture of Altice France and a consortium of infrastructure investors including OMERS, Allianz and AXA.
- Advised Velocity Clinical Research, Inc. (a portfolio company of GHO Capital) on the financing (which included $500m of syndicated English law unitranche loan facilities) to facilitate its acquisition of US target Meridian Clinical Research.
- Advised Baring PE Asia in connection with the debt financing commitments for the $2.7bn acquisition of Tricor Group – a provider of integrated business, corporate and investor services – from Permira.
Shearman & Sterling LLP
In something of a state of flux following a number of high-profile departures, most notable of which was Korey Fevzi‘s exit to Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in March 2023, Shearman & Sterling LLP's London office still maintains strong lender-side relationships and is well-positioned to advise on mid-to-upper-mid-market transactions in the leveraged finance field using financial products throughout the capital structure. As well as advising the firm’s core base of banking clients, the team also continues to grow its credit fund offering, with team head Sanjeev Dhuna particularly prominent in the sector. The ‘very credible’ Shameer Shah is also a key member of the team and ‘is able to articulate complex legal jargon in simple English’, particularly in the context of direct lending transactions.
Responsables de la pratique:
Sanjeev Dhuna
Autres avocats clés:
Gordon Houseman; Shameer Shah; Anna Shelton; Lauren Winter; Ben Burton
Les références
‘Shameer Shah is a very credible lawyer who has deep understanding of the legal documents. He is able to articulate complex legal jargon in simple English and is able to explain our point of view to borrowers counsel to get a document point accepted. ‘
Principaux clients
Caryle Global Credit Investment Management
Apollo Global Management
Goldman Sachs International
Arcmont
Ares Management
BNP Paribas
Bank of Montreal
Principaux dossiers
- Advising the financing sources to a consortium of investors investing in Atalanta BC.
- Advised lenders in connection with the financing in support of the acquisition of Forterro by Partners Group.
- Advised the initial purchasers in connection with a £700m two-tranche sterling and euro-denominated senior secured bond offering to facilitate Cinven’s acquisition of True Potential.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP
With 'a great work ethic', Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP provides an 'exceptional service', frequently working alongside its corporate and private equity practices, on behalf of a debtor-focused client base that includes both corporates and sponsors. 'Very commercial' team head Pete Coulton 'fights for what matters' for his clients and is a popular choice on large cross-border leveraged and event-driven financings, often involving complex financing structures. Clive Wells handles some investment grade acquisition financing mandates as part of his wide-ranging finance practice.
Responsables de la pratique:
Pete Coulton
Autres avocats clés:
Clive Wells; Rui (Sese) Qi; Brendan Macreadie
Les références
‘The team has a great work ethic, team spirt, knowledge of the sector and are strong negotiators.’
‘Pete Coulton is a smart guy who fights for what matters and is very commercial.’
‘Pete Coulton and Zoe Cooper Sutton are both exceptional, they have a mastery of the product and how to apply it to an unusual asset class like data centers across various geographies.’
Principaux clients
Harng Central Department Stores
Outokumpu Oyj
UCB S.A.
JDE Peet’s N.V.
Continental Grain Company and Agroberries
SIGNA Group
United Talent Agency
Waldencast Acquisition Corp
SP Plus Corporation
Shareholders of MiQ
Ashtead Group plc
MJ Gleeson plc
Adevinta ASA
Iceland Foods plc
Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini S.p.A.
Silver Lake Partners
IPI Partners
Castik Capital
JAB Holdings B.V.
Energy Infrastructure Partners AG
SIGNA Holding GmbH
Crosstree Real Estate Partners LLP
H.I.G. Capital
CTH Invest S.A. (Ferrero family office)
Black Diamond Capital Management
DigitalBridge, formerly Colony Capital
Parkview
Fortress
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Harng Central Department Stores on the financing of its £4bn acquisition of Selfridges & Co. Limited from the Weston Family.
- Advised Outokumpu Oyj on its €700m sustainability-linked revolving credit facility.
- Advised Silver Lake on its €380m Term Loan B and revolving credit facilities in connection with its acquisition of Grupo BC de Asesoría Hipotecaria.
Slaughter and May
Led by Matthew Tobin, Slaughter and May‘s borrower-focused generalist financing practice regularly handles acquisition finance mandates for the firm’s impressive roster of FTSE 100 and 250 clients, which are appreciative of its versatility across many different finance products, including TLB, unitranche and loan/high yield bonds. The team also excels at handling public takeover work, an area in which Robert Byk is particularly accomplished and well-versed at handling “certain funds” public bid finance.
Responsables de la pratique:
Matthew Tobin
Autres avocats clés:
Ed Fife; Robert Byk; Caroline Phillips; Guy O’Keefe; Azadeh Nassiri; Susan Hughes; Claire Cooke; Charlie McGarel-Groves
Principaux clients
Agility
Coats
Ineos
Schneider
Venus Topco
Principaux dossiers
- Advising Schneider Electric SE on its public offer to acquire the remaining shares in AVEVA plc, at a price of 3100p per share in a deal valuing the whole of AVEVA at around £9.48bn.
- Advising Coats Group plc on a $250m term loan facility agreement in relation to its acquisition of the Texon group, a global leader in premium structural components and materials for the footwear, accessories and apparel industries.
- Advising Agility Public Warehousing Company on the debt financing aspects of its successful acquisition of John Menzies PLC, a British aviation services company.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP
Often working alongside its corporate team, Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP‘s debt finance practice continues to gain traction among private equity sponsors/portfolio companies, which appreciate the firm’s deep knowledge of financing structures throughout the capital structure, as well as its ability to draw on its strong international resources. A number of the transactions involve input from the firm’s Paris and Frankfurt offices, with Sebastien Fitzgerald particularly visible on such deals, both in relation to conventional par leveraged transactions, as well as in the context of special situations investing. In addition to private equity work Ashley Young also handles some lender mandates for credit funds and heads a team that was afforded further bench strength following the arrival of leveraged finance expert Daniel Gendron from Linklaters LLP in August 2022.
Responsables de la pratique:
Ashley Young
Autres avocats clés:
Sebastian FitzGerald; Daniel Gendron; Komal Raina
Les références
‘Very responsive with good, clear and commercial advice.’
‘Komal Raina and Ashley Young are very high quality lawyers’
Principaux clients
CVC Capital Partners
Searchlight Capital Partners
Insight Partners
PAI Partners
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners
Freshstream Investment Partners
Genstar / Apex
SGT Capital
Stanley Capital Partners
Fidelis
Principaux dossiers
- Represented Searchlight Capital Partners on the sale of Global Risk Partners to Florida-based Brown & Brown, Inc.
- Advised STARK Group, a portfolio company of CVC, on its acquisition of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution.
- Advised Platinum Equity on the financing of its acquisition of Imerys High Temperature Solutions Business.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Less siloed than some of its peers, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner‘s generalist finance offering has an excellent overarching perspective of market trends and debt products, ensuring that it has the flexibility to effectively advise both creditor and debtor clients across a range of leveraged and event-driven financings. Team head Emma Howdle-Fuller regularly advises banking clients on M&A-related financings, while Derek Hrydziuszko is more skewed towards corporate borrower mandates, including for large investment grade entities. Shanan Dunstan‘s versatile offering includes a strong and growing presence in the ABL space and she regularly acts on hybrid deals where ABL products sit alongside other debt including term loans.
Responsables de la pratique:
Emma Howdle-Fuller
Autres avocats clés:
Derek Hrydziuszko; Shanan Dunstan
Principaux clients
Playtech
Secure Income REIT
Wells Fargo
Norinchukin Bank
Scotiabank/Bank of Nova Scotia
Bank of China (London Branch)
Harlan Capital
Kape
Romulus Holdings
Rabobank
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Secure Income REIT on key financing aspects of its £3.9bn recommended merger with LXi REIT.
- Advised Kape Technologies on a $500m financing, including in connection with the $1bn acquisition of ExpressVPN, the premium industry-leading virtual private network.
- Advised Harlan Capital on an investment in Immersive Gamebox.
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Established in April 2022 following the ‘commercially sharp’ Matthew Smith ‘s arrival from Baker McKenzie, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP has quickly made an impact with a lender focused client base and is ‘building a growing presence in the private credit markets’. Clients, which include a number of debt funds, appreciate not only its ‘strong technical and commercial understanding’ of core leveraged finance products but also the synergies provided by the firm’s broader competence in fund finance, in particular. The team’s upward trajectory was further underscored by the arrival in April 2023 of the ‘exceptional’ Smridhi Gulati from Dechert LLP, who now co-heads the team alongside Smith.
Responsables de la pratique:
Matthew Smith; Smridhi Gulati
Autres avocats clés:
Bevis Metcalfe; Andrew Vickers; Matthew Mazenier; Joe Denyer
Les références
‘Working with the firm is like an extension of our in-house team.’
‘The team are building a growing presence in the private credit markets and do a very good job. They demonstrate strong technical and commercial understanding and are, in our view, more impressive than many of their peer firms.’
‘Matthew Smith is a very strong technical lawyer who is also commercially sharp – he knows how to get deals done and focuses on the important details without getting bogged down in matters that don’t mean anything to clients.’
Principaux clients
Macquarie Principal Finance
Ardian Private Credit
EMK Capital
Bridgepoint Credit
Muzinich Private Credit
Barings Private Credit
Ardian Private Credit
Apera Asset Management
Hanover Investors Management
Goldman Sachs
National Westminster Bank
Principaux dossiers
- Advised the unitranche and holdco lenders (including Bridgepoint Credit)in connection with the unitranche and holdco PIK facilities made available in connection with Bregal Sagemount’s acquisition of certain interests in the Enhesa Group from ICG plc.
- Advised the unitranche lenders (including Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Principal Finance) in connection with the senior secured facilities (including additional incremental facilities) made available to the Dukes Education Group, one of the largest collection of nurseries, schools and education services in the UK.
- Advised the Private Equity Sponsor and the Borrower in connection with the unitranche refinancing of EMK Capital’s acquisition of the Outright Games Group (and its subsequent acquisition funding of US-based target GameMill) using facilities made available by Bain Capital Credit (amongst others).
CMS
Drawing on ‘a good depth of knowledge’ across product lines, CMS provides ‘user-friendly and pragmatic’ advice to private equity sponsors and UK clearing banks within the mid-market leveraged finance sphere. Patrick Donegan, who is particularly adept at handling deals in the energy and infrastructure sectors, heads a team that also includes TMT finance specialist Charles Kerrigan and the ‘approachable, affable and experienced’ Tom Siggers.
Responsables de la pratique:
Patrick Donegan
Autres avocats clés:
Charles Kerrigan; Alex Patience; Mark Moseling; Anne Chitan; Tom Siggers; Tom Hughes; Kerry Langton; Olivia Crundwell
Les références
‘The responsive team has a good depth of knowledge.’
‘The team is responsive, solutions-oriented and cost-effective.’
‘The team is efficient, user-friendly and pragmatic.’
Principaux clients
Macquarie Asset Management
Queens Park Equity
Clarity Global
August Equity
Three Hills Capital
Bank of Ireland
HSBC
Barclays Bank
BNP Paribas
Citibank
Santander
NatWest Bank
Crescent Capital
Five Arrows
Hoplon Investment Partners
Principaux dossiers
- Advising Macquarie Asset Management and BCI on their acquisition of a majority stake in National Grid’s gas transmission business with a total enterprise value of £9.6bn.
- Advising a syndicate of nine key technology lenders (Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Citi London, Citi Singapore, BNP Paribas, Citizens Bank, Bank Leumi, HSBC and Credit Suisse) in relation to amended, restated and increased bank facilities of $500m in total to Kape Technologies to assist in the acquisition of ExpressVPN.
- Advising August Private Equity on a unitranche refinancing alongside a super senior RCF and a slice of super senior term debt provided by a clearing bank to its education and care business Orbis.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Conversant with a wide range of finance products, including European TLB, US TLB and New York law-governed high yield notes, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP‘s small partner-led team is particularly adept at handling big-ticket cross-border leveraged finance transactions for banks and borrowers. Team head Nick Benham‘s broad and deep acquisition finance prowess includes niche expertise handling public bid finance, where he often works alongside the firm’s strong M&A team.
Responsables de la pratique:
Nick Benham
Autres avocats clés:
Aaron Ferner
Principaux clients
ADC Therapeutics
Atairos
Brookfield Business Partners
Citigroup
Comcast
Credit Agricole
Credit Suisse
eDreams ODIGEO
Ferrero
Ford Motor Company
Hayfin Capital Management
J.P. Morgan
Made.com
Morgan Stanley
Royalty Pharma
SatixFy Communications
Sky
SS&C Technologies
Temenos
Tencent
Wren Sterling
Principaux dossiers
- Advised the underwriters on the $28.5bn financing for Amgen’s proposed takeover of Horizon Therapeutics.
- Advised underwriters on the €3.9bn financing for KKR’s acquisition of Refresco Group B.V.
- Advised Atairos in connection with its £140m financing for its takeover of Ocean Outdoor PLC.
Goodwin
Focusing on acquisitions in firmwide core industry sectors, including tech, life sciences and property, Goodwin continues to actively advise on behalf of a growing roster of private equity funds, which are appreciative of the firm's expertise advising on debt financing techniques throughout the capital structure. Simon Fulbrook and Hugh O’Sullivan co-head the team.
Responsables de la pratique:
Simon Fulbrook; Hugh O’Sullivan
Autres avocats clés:
Richard Hughes; Thomas Plowman
Les références
‘Goodwin has worked with us accessing large direct deals and small mid-market deals. The same team there can lead appropriate documentation for both – this is unique’
‘Stand-out knowledge from Hugh O’Sullivan from legal issues on large to small-market terms. He also understands the inner workings of banks which helps management as much as it helps our firm.’
Principaux clients
ECI Partners
TowerBrook Capital Partners
LDC
Mayfair Equity Partners
Partners Group
Queens Park Equity
TA Associates
Bregal Milestone
Tiancheng International Investment
Wavecrest Partners
G Square Private Equity
H.I.G. Capital
Inflexion
Accel-KKR
Thoma Bravo
Principaux dossiers
- Advised TowerBrook Capital Partners on the financing to facilitate its acquisition of leading provider of premium finance for commercial and retail insurance products Premium Credit Limited from Cinven.
- Advised Biocon Biologics Ltd. (India’s largest biotech company) on the financing to facilitate its $3.33bn acquisition of the global biosimilars business of its partner Viatris Inc.
- Advised Accel-KKR on the debt financing for its acquisition of the PayProp group and the co-investment in the PayProp group by a consortium of its existing shareholders.
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP‘s primary acquisition finance focus is advising its impressive roster of large investment grade corporates on the debt structuring to facilitate their M&A transactions, although it does handle some lender matters (particularly in relation to real estate mandates and emerging markets matters) . The team, which is co-headed by Kristen Roberts, William Breeze and Gabrielle Wong, also handles targeted funds-side work (for both private equity sponsors and sovereign wealth funds), focusing on transactions within core firmwide sector strengths including energy and infrastructure.
Responsables de la pratique:
Kristen Roberts; William Breeze; Gabrielle Wong
Autres avocats clés:
Will Nevin; Heather Culshaw; Thomas Bethel; Martin Kavanagh; Stacey Pang
Principaux clients
Schneider Electric plc
Bank of America
GIC
Inchcape plc
Capital & Counties plc
Elementis plc
Synthomer plc
Workspace Group plc
Marel hf and its subsidiaries
Victorian Funds Management Corporation
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Schneider Electric SE on its £4.1bn multicurrency bridge facility agreement in connection with its proposed acquisition of Aveva Group plc, one of Britain’s biggest tech companies.
- Advised Bank of America and HSBC as lenders on the multi-billion-pound separation financing of Haleon from the GSK group.
- Advised GIC on the financing of its strategic acquisition of a minority stake in CETIN Group, the CEE leading mobile telecommunications infrastructure platform.
McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP
The ‘technically strong and commercial’ team at McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP provides ‘insightful yet very practical advice’ to funds, in lender and borrower roles, primarily within the mid-market leveraged finance sphere. Team head Aymen Mahmoud has ‘exceptional knowledge of the acquisition finance space’, and since his arrival, along with the ‘hugely intelligent and commercially savvy lawyer’ Mark Fine in May 2020, has provided huge impetus to the finance offering and gained considerable market share.
Responsables de la pratique:
Aymen Mahmoud
Autres avocats clés:
Mark Fine; Giulia Venanzoni; Nicholas Jupp
Les références
‘The team is adept at providing insightful yet very practical advice.’
‘The team has excellent capacity to understand both mid-market and upper market documents and advise clients accordingly.’
‘It is a very technically strong and commercial team.’
Principaux clients
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Aksiom Services Group
Alcentra Limited
Alter Domus
Aquiline Capital Partners
Ares Management Limited
bd-capital
Blue Owl (formerly Owl Rock)
Blue Water Private Equity LLP
Cairn Capital
Caura Ltd
ClearCourse
CoachHub GmbH
CVC Credit
Excellence Logging Limited
Five Arrows Growth Capital
FQX
GLAS Specialist Services Limited
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Golub Capital LLC
Guggenheim Partners Limited
HPS Investment Partners
Intriva Capital
Laboratoire X.O.
Mercuria Energy Trading Pte Ltd
MessageBird B.V.
Odyssey Europe Holdco S.à r.l. (holding company of Olympic Entertainment Group)
OpenGate Capital Management Europe Sarl (and its portfolio companies Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems and EverZinc)
Orbus Group
Palamon Capital Partners (and portfolio company FairConnect)
Parent Cloud Limited
Partners Group
Pemberton Capital Advisors LLP
Perwyn Advisors UK Limited
PX Group
QMetric Group Limited
Royal Bank of Canada
Sanne
SilverTree Equity Partners LLP
Sirius Petroleum PLC
Sona Asset Management
Synova Capital (and portfolio insurance brokerage business JMG Group)
Treo Asset Management LLC (previously known as BRG Asset Management)
Weight Capital Partners
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Golub Capital, as lender, on the acquisition of Outpost24, a cybersecurity risk management group, by Vitruvian Partners as sponsor.
- Advised Aquiline Capital Partners and ClearCourse on financing provided by BlackRock and Goldman Sachs.
- Advised Five Arrows Growth Capital (FAGC), as sponsors, on the funding for their acquisition of the Padoa group.
Morrison Foerster
Spearheaded by the 'hardworking' and 'technically astute' Christopher Kandel, Morrison Foerster's small but versatile London finance offering is well-versed at advising creditors and debtors across a range of financing structures, including a considerable and growing volume of mandates within the leveraged/acquisition finance space. Kandel's ability to advise on both English and US law-governed products is a particularly strong selling point, ensuring a degree of continuity unmatched by many other firms in the ranking. The 'incredibly responsive and highly personable' John Burge is also a key member of the team as a result of his conventional corporate finance expertise, as well as regularly advising on growth company debt finance matters.
Responsables de la pratique:
Christopher Kandel
Autres avocats clés:
John Burge; Matthew Dunlap; Rebecca DeLong
Les références
‘The team is technically very strong.’
‘The very hardworking Christopher Kandel is technically astute.’
‘John Burge is a delight to work with. He is incredibly responsive and highly personable. He demystifies complex topics and is pragmatic.’
Principaux clients
Ares Management Limited
Barclays Bank PLC
Bardin Hill
Beach Point Capital
Deutsche Bank AG
Ernst & Young
Eurazeo (formerly known as Idinvest)
Eurohold Bulgaria
Fortress
Morgan Stanley
RS Group PLC (formerly known as Electrocomponents)
Smart Pension Limited
SoftBank Group Corp.
Tate & Lyle
Yara International
Principaux dossiers
- Represented Yara in connection with its successful $600m debut green bond offering.
- Acted for SoftBank Group Corp. in a limited recourse margin loan secured by its 75% stake in Arm Limited, initially closed at $8bn and subsequently upsized to $8.5bn.
- Represented Smart Pension in negotiating and entry into a loan facility agreement provided by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
Norton Rose Fulbright
At Norton Rose Fulbright, the ‘responsive and knowledgeable’ finance team handles a considerable volume of acquisition finance work for its creditor-focused client base. Michael Black , who co-heads the team alongside energy and infrastructure finance expert Madhavi Gosavi , has broad knowledge across myriad finance products, including a market-leading ABL offering, which he regularly deploys as a key part of the finance package to facilitate large-scale cross-border acquisition finance deals. The firm’s emerging markets prowess also regularly elicits acquisition and event-driven finance mandates for commercial and development banks.
Responsables de la pratique:
Madhavi Gosavi; Michael Black
Autres avocats clés:
Neha Khosla; Michael Ings; James Dunnett; Alex Zekkos
Les références
‘The responsive and knowledgeable team provides excellent market insights.’
‘They get what you need and how you think and become an extension of the business while they support you. Also very good at converting technical legal language into commercial realities and consequences.’
‘Neha Khosla is very practical, attentive and technically strong.’
Principaux clients
ABN Amro
Absa Bank
Africa Finance Corporation
African Development Bank
Aurelius
Bank of America
Bank of China
Bantry Bay
Barclays Bank
DBS
Deutsche Bank
DNB Bank
EBRD
Export Development Canada
Goldman Sachs
Hamburg Commercial Bank
HCC International Insurance Company plc
HSBC
IFC
ING Bank
Japan International Cooperation Agency
JP Morgan Chase Bank
Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe
Macquarie
Mizuho
MUFG Bank
Natixis
Natwest
PNC, National Association
Shell International Eastern Trading
SMBC Bank
Stanbic Uganda
Standard Bank of South Africa
Standard Chartered
Swiss Re
The Bank of East Asia
Wells Fargo Capital Finance
Alleima Treasury AB
Aurelius
Bausch Health Companies Inc.
Chaucer Group
Coca-Cola HBC Finance BV
Countryside Partnerships Plc
Dialight Plc
Domino’s Pizza Group Plc
ED&F Man Treasury Plc
IMI Group Limited
Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) Plc
Reach Plc
RWS Holdings Plc
Sandvik Treasury AB
Titan Trust Bank Limited
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Titan Trust Bank Limited on its acquisition finance facilities for the acquisition of NGX-listed Union Bank of Nigeria PLC. The debt facilities of $300m were provided by Afrexim as Lender, and disbursed under its Intra-African Investment Financing Facility.
- Advised Export Development Canada on the multi-currency acquisition financing facilities made available to Clearpier Acquisitions Corp, a subsidiary of Clearpier Inc., for the acquisitions of KPM Technologies Ltd, Cygobel Media Ltd, Hang My Ads, Lda and Pesto Harel Shemesh Ltd. (PubPlus).
- Advised Barclays Bank as arranger of a $500m asset-based lending facility to entities related to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC in relation to the acquisition of LABL Acquisition Corporation from Platinum Equity.
Pinsent Masons LLP
Leveraging well-established clearing bank ties as well as a growing volume of mandates for alternative finance providers, Pinsent Masons LLP is adept at advising on mid-market acquisition finance transactions. In this context, clients benefit from experts based in London, as well as in key regional centres, including practitioners with complementary expertise advising on ABL products – which are increasingly being used on hybrid deals in the space. Max Millington ‘is technically very strong’, and has a good perspective of the market for lenders and private equity sponsors.
Responsables de la pratique:
Max Millington
Autres avocats clés:
Liam Terry; Kate Hardwidge; Mhairi Morrison
Les références
‘Pinsent Masons has the strength in depth and the resources to ensure that often challenging timelines are met.’
‘Advice is of a consistently high standard and we trust that our position will be protected.’
‘Max Millington is technically very strong. He is also willing to spend time helping us to navigate proposals which may or may not turn into transactions. The time investment in the relationship is much appreciated.’
Principaux clients
Aareal Bank AG
HSBC Bank
ICBC Bank
MML Capital Partners LLP
MUFG
Santander UK plc
SMBC
Sovereign Capital Partners LLP
ThinCats
Principaux dossiers
- Advising ThinCats on its support for Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP’s portfolio company, E-zec Medical Transport Services, in their merger with ERS Medical to create the UK’s leading private ambulance business.
- Advising ThinCats on the acquisition financing to support Chiltern Capital’s investment in SiXworks
- Advising SCP on acquisition financing for their investment in public- sector consultancy, Actica
Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP
At Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP, Chris Hastings is key to the firm’s success with private equity sponsors seeking financing for acquisitions, primarily within the mid-market. As part of his role as head of the London office’s banking practice, Nick Swiss handles some lender work on acquisition finance and corporate lending transactions. The arrival in July 2023 of private credit expert Ben Davis from Proskauer Rose LLP is a significant hire for the firm in light of the increased importance private capital has in funding mid-market M&A activity.
Responsables de la pratique:
Nick Swiss
Autres avocats clés:
Chris Hastings; Christopher Akinrele; Christopher Williams; Catherine Jones; Alex Smith; Ali Stark; Ben Davis
Principaux clients
Inflexion
Sovereign Capital Partners
Perwyn Advisors
Bowmark Capital
Baird Capital
H2 Equity Partners
Livingbridge
Principaux dossiers
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Firmly focused on borrower mandates, primarily for a fund-centric client base, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP‘s sweet-spot lies in handling cross-border transatlantic mandates, where the firm adds value not only through its ability to collaborate with US-based colleagues but also through the bank of practitioners in London with knowledge across the spectrum of UK and US law governed debt products. Neil Caddy is the principal contact for leveraged finance mandates and has expertise structuring deals using sophisticated financing techniques, including cov-lite TLB, bank/bond, second lien and unitranche products.
Responsables de la pratique:
J. Christian Nahr (New York)
Autres avocats clés:
Neil Caddy; Jons Lehmann; Kathryn Cecil; Graham Greenwood
Principaux clients
Perrigo
LumiraDx
Jacobs Engineering
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Cambridge Information Group, Inc. acting as sponsor in the negotiation of a new credit facility with Owl Rock Core Income Corp., as Administrative Agent, and Barclays Bank PLC, as Revolver Agent, consisting of (i) a US$90m term loan facility and (ii) a $10m revolving credit facility, with proceeds used to finance the acquisition of Emerald Group Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries.
- Advised Madison International Realty, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and other WELPUT investors on the co-investment, alongside BentallGreenOak (BGO) managed funds, for the acquisition and development of 105 Victoria Street in London.
- Advised Permira Advisers as finance counsel in connection with the financing of Permira’s acquisition of Mimecast Limited.
Jones Day
Jones Day provides an 'incredible service, which is legally superb and very commercial' for banks and credit funds providing financing solutions throughout the capital structure on leveraged and event-driven cross-border transactions. The 'outstanding' Lee Federman 'is technically superb, calm and composed' and has been central to the firm's success for clients, including on transatlantic deals, where he effectively leverages the expertise of the firm's New York office. Lewis Grimm co-heads the team alongside Federman.
Responsables de la pratique:
Lee Federman; Lewis Grimm
Autres avocats clés:
Thomas Miller; Mamoun Shafi
Les références
‘Jones Day’s leveraged finance team provide an incredible service, which is legally superb and very commercial.’
‘They manage transactions with huge amounts of work behind the scenes and, even if it is difficult, remain calm and run a very collaborative process.’
‘Expert, detailed legal advice and always available. Simply exceptional. Depth of coverage, but always with fantastic access to partner led expert service.’
Principaux clients
Arsenal Capital
Bank of Montreal
Inflexion
J.F. Lehman
Macquarie Asset Management
Orange
OakNorth Bank
Permira Credit
Stellex Capital
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Orange on the €6.6bn financing in connection with its joint venture with Masmovil in Spain.
- Advised Bank of Montreal as arranger on its $800m reducing commitment revolving credit facilities to finance Nuvei Corp’s $1.3bn acquisition of Paya Holdings Inc.
- Advised Macquarie Asset Management on the financing of its proposed €2.4bn acquisition of Suez’s UK waste and recovery business.
King & Spalding LLP
Enhanced by a spate of recent hires, King & Spalding LLP's London offering is an increasingly credible proposition for lenders and borrowers engaged in cross-border leveraged finance mandates, particularly those involving a combination of US and UK debt products (where it can call on the firm’s long-established US platform). Richard Kitchen, who joined alongside the ‘brilliant’ Amin Doulai from Paul Hastings LLP in August 2022, was one of the most notable of these in light of his private credit expertise. Kitchen now co-heads the team alongside Benoit Lavigne , who himself has considerable leveraged and private credit expertise on both lender and borrower fronts.
Responsables de la pratique:
Richard Kitchen; Benoit Lavigne
Autres avocats clés:
Amin Doulai; Andrew Brown; Alon Blitz; Patrick Schumann; David Phillips; Kwame Adzatia; Rosie Watterson; Cameron Storah
Les références
‘When transaction timelines are tight, I always turn to the King & Spalding team because I know they can meet deadlines despite leaving no stone unturned in their review. I can be confident that things won’t be overlooked.’
‘The team is very capable and highly responsive.’
‘Richard Kitchen’s ability to draw on experience having worked both lender side and sponsor side is rare in the UK market. It helps us as clients really take an objective view during negotiations and easily identify what we should be most concerned about.’
Principaux clients
Antares Capital
Ares
Bain Capital Credit
Barings
Blue Torch Capital
CPPIB Credit Investments III Inc.
Circular Resources SARL
MGG Investment Group
Prudential Private Capital
Thoma Bravo Credit Fund II, L.P.
Tree Line Capital Partners
Utmost Group
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Circular Resources SARL on a revolving and term facilities agreement including an initial term loan commitment made available for its acquisition of Duales Systems Holding GmbH & Co. KG.
- Advised Blackstone Alternative Credit Advisors LP, Thoma Bravo Credit Fund II, L.P. and CPPIB Credit Investments III Inc. as lenders of a first lien credit facility to Nightvision Bidco Limited (UK borrower) and Nintex USA, Inc. (US borrower), and their holding entities and subsidiaries.
- Advised the lender on a $12.15m revolving credit facility for the borrower, Hercules Technologies BidCo Limited (a portfolio company of STG Partners). The proceeds of which were partially used to fund a portion of Hercules Technologies BidCo Limited’s acquisition of Brady Trading Limited and Brady Switzerland SA.
Taylor Wessing LLP
Led by Martin Yells, Taylor Wessing LLP provides ‘high-quality advice’ to corporates and private equity firms engaged in mid-market acquisition finance mandates. A significant amount of the work revolves around the tech sector, including the provision of debt financing to later stage venture-backed clients of the firm. The ‘hardworking’ Lerika Le Grange is a ‘first-rate banking lawyer’, and is a key member of the versatile team by virtue of her deep and wide expertise across new money and distressed debt/restructuring transactions.
Responsables de la pratique:
Martin Yells
Autres avocats clés:
Lerika Le Grange; Fiona Coady
Les références
‘The superb team provides high-quality advice.’
‘The hardworking Lerika Le Grange is a first-rate banking lawyer.’
Principaux clients
Digital 9 Infrastructure plc
Hilton Food Group plc
Ecora Resources plc
CentralNic Group plc
NoteMachine / Eurochange
Inflexion Private Equity Partners / K2 Partnering Solutions
EA-RS Fire Engineering Limited
Rutland Partners / JSM Group
Shield Therapeutics plc
Inflexion Private Equity Partners / Virgin Experience Days
PNC Business Credit
Bridgepoint Advisors II Limited
Principaux dossiers
- Acted for Digital 9 on a revolving credit facility of £375m (plus an uncommitted accordion for a further £200m) to support the company in continuing to make strategic acquisitions in the digital infrastructure sector.
- Advised meat and specialist protein product processor Hilton Foods Group PLC on the refinancing of all of its existing debt facilities (which included the multi-currency revolving and term facilities we advised HFG on in 2017 and a bridge financing we advised on in late 2021) with a new unsecured multi-currency revolving and term investment grade facilities agreement, in part to support the strategic acquisition of Foppen and the Dutch Seafood Company.
- Acting on the refinancing of the CentralNic Group via syndicated term and revolving loan facilities.