ICLG
The International Comparative Legal Guide to:
Lending & Secured Finance 2016
4th Edition
A practical cross-border insight into lending and secured finance
Published by Global Legal Group, with contributions from:
Advokatfirma Ræder DA
Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro
Allen & Overy LLP
Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
Asia Pacific Loan Market Association
Brulc, GaberšÄik in Kikelj o.p., d.o.o.
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Carey
CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz
Cordero & Cordero Abogados
Criales, Urcullo & Antezana
Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Drew & Napier LLC
E & G Economides LLC
Ferraiuoli LLC
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Gonzalez Calvillo, S.C.
JŠK, advokátní kanceláÅ™, s.r.o.
Khan Corporate Law
King & Spalding LLP
King & Wood Mallesons
KPP Law Offices
Latham & Watkins LLP
Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law
Linklaters LLP
Loan Market Association
Loan Syndications and Trading Association
Maples and Calder
Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal
McCann FitzGerald
McMillan LLP
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
Miranda & Amado Abogados
MJM Limited
Montel&Manciet Advocats
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Mosgo & Partners
Paksoy
Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law Ltd
Pinheiro Neto Advogados
QUIROZ SANTRONI Abogados Consultores
Reff & Associates SCA
Rodner, Martínez & Asociados
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Tonucci & Partners
White & Case LLP
. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Lending & Secured Finance 2016
Editorial Chapters:
1
Loan Syndications and Trading: An Overview of the Syndicated Loan Market – Bridget Marsh &
Ted Basta, Loan Syndications and Trading Association
2
Contributing Editor
Thomas Mellor, Morgan,
Lewis & Bockius LLP
Loan Market Association – An Overview – Nigel Houghton, Loan Market Association
3
An Overview of the APLMA – Janet Field & Katy Chan, Asia Pacific Loan Market Association
1
7
12
General Chapters:
4
An Introduction to Legal Risk and Structuring Cross-Border Lending Transactions – Thomas Mellor &
Marcus Marsh, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
15
Sales Director
Florjan Osmani
5
Account Directors
Oliver Smith, Rory Smith
Global Trends in Leveraged Lending – Joshua W. Thompson & Caroline Leeds Ruby, Shearman &
Sterling LLP
20
6
Similar But Not The Same: Some Ways in Which Bonds and Loans Will Differ in a Restructuring –
Kenneth J. Steinberg & Darren S. Klein, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
26
7
Yankee Loans – “Lost in Translation” – a Look Back at Market Trends in 2015 –
Alan Rockwell & Martin Forbes, White & Case LLP
32
8
Commercial Lending in the Developing Global Regulatory Environment: 2016 and Beyond –
Bill Satchell & Elizabeth Leckie, Allen & Overy LLP
40
Sales Support Manager
Toni Hayward
Sub Editor
Sam Friend
Senior Editor
Rachel Williams
Chief Operating Officer
Dror Levy
9 Acquisition Financing in the United States: Will the Boom Continue? – Geoffrey R.
Peck &
Mark S. Wojciechowski, Morrison & Foerster LLP
45
Group Consulting Editor
Alan Falach
10 A Comparative Overview of Transatlantic Intercreditor Agreements – Lauren Hanrahan &
Suhrud Mehta, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
50
Group Publisher
Richard Firth
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11 A Comparison of Key Provisions in U.S. and European Leveraged Loan Agreements – Sarah M.
Ward &
Mark L. Darley, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
57
12 The Global Subscription Credit Facility and Fund Finance Markets – Key Trends and
Forecasting 2016 – Michael C. Mascia & Wesley A.
Misson, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
66
13 Recent Trends and Developments in U.S. Term Loan B – David Almroth & Denise Ryan,
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
69
14 The Continued Migration of US Covenant-Lite Structures into the European Leveraged
Loan Market – Jane Summers & James Chesterman, Latham & Watkins LLP 74
15 Unitranche Financing: UK vs. US Models – Stuart Brinkworth & Julian S.H.
Chung,
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
77
16 Recent Developments in Islamic Finance – Andrew Metcalf & Leroy Levy, King & Spalding LLP
82
17 Translating High Yield to Leveraged Loans: Avoiding Covenant Convergence Confusion –
Jeff Norton & Danelle Le Cren, Linklaters LLP
86
Country Question and Answer Chapters:
Strategic Partners
Tonucci & Partners: Neritan Kallfa & Blerina Nikolla
19 Andorra
Montel&Manciet Advocats: Audrey Montel Rossell &
Liliana Ranaldi González
20 Argentina
ISBN 978-1-910083-90-1
ISSN 2050-9847
18 Albania
Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal: Juan M. Diehl Moreno & Diego A. Chighizola
103
21 Australia
King & Wood Mallesons: Yuen-Yee Cho & Richard Hayes
112
91
97
22 Bermuda
PEFC/16-33-254
www.pefc.org
130
Khan Corporate Law: Shakila Khan
137
25 Brazil
This product is
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managed forests and
controlled sources
120
Criales, Urcullo & Antezana: Andrea Mariah Urcullo Pereira &
Daniel Mariaca Alvarez
24 Botswana
PEFC Certified
MJM Limited: Jeremy Leese
23 Bolivia
Pinheiro Neto Advogados: Ricardo Simões Russo &
Leonardo Baptista Rodrigues Cruz
145
26 British Virgin Islands
Maples and Calder: Michael Gagie & Matthew Gilbert
153
27 Canada
McMillan LLP: Jeff Rogers & Don Waters
160
28 Cayman Islands
Maples and Calder: Tina Meigh & Nick Herrod
169
Continued Overleaf
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Disclaimer
This publication is for general information purposes only. It does not purport to provide comprehensive full legal or other advice.
Global Legal Group Ltd. and the contributors accept no responsibility for losses that may arise from reliance upon information contained in this publication.
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. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Lending & Secured Finance 2016
Country Question and Answer Chapters:
29 Chile
Carey: Diego Peralta & Elena Yubero
176
30 China
King & Wood Mallesons: Jack Wang & Stanley Zhou
183
31 Costa Rica
Cordero & Cordero Abogados: Hernán Cordero Maduro &
Ricardo Cordero Baltodano
190
32 Cyprus
E & G Economides LLC: Marinella Kilikitas & George Economides
198
33 Czech Republic
JŠK, advokátní kanceláÅ™, s.r.o.: Roman ŠÅ¥astný & Patrik Müller
206
34 Dominican Republic
QUIROZ SANTRONI Abogados Consultores: Hipólito García C.
212
35 England
Allen & Overy LLP: Philip Bowden & Darren Hanwell
219
36 France
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP: Emmanuel Ringeval & Cristina Radu
227
37 Germany
King & Spalding LLP: Dr. Werner Meier & Dr. Axel J. Schilder
237
38 Greece
KPP Law Offices: George N.
Kerameus & Pinelopi N. Tsagkari
248
39 Hong Kong
King & Wood Mallesons: Richard Mazzochi & David Lam
255
40 Indonesia
Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro: Theodoor Bakker &
Ayik Candrawulan Gunadi
262
41 Ireland
McCann FitzGerald: Fergus Gillen & Martin O’Neill
270
42 Japan
Anderson Mori & Tomotsune: Taro Awataguchi & Yuki Kohmaru
278
43 Mexico
Gonzalez Calvillo, S.C.: José Ignacio Rivero Andere & Samuel Campos Leal
286
44 Norway
Advokatfirma Ræder DA: Marit E. Kirkhusmo & Kyrre W.
Kielland
293
45 Peru
Miranda & Amado Abogados: Juan Luis Avendaño C. &
Jose Miguel Puiggros O.
302
46 Puerto Rico
Ferraiuoli LLC: José Fernando Rovira Rullán & Carlos M. Lamoutte-Navas
312
47 Romania
Reff & Associates SCA: Andrei Burz-Pinzaru & Mihaela Maxim
319
48 Russia
Mosgo & Partners: Oleg Mosgo & Anton Shamatonov
327
49 Singapore
Drew & Napier LLC: Valerie Kwok & Blossom Hing
334
50 Slovenia
Brulc, GaberšÄik in Kikelj o.p., d.o.o.: Luka GaberšÄik & Mina Kržišnik
343
51 Spain
Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira: Manuel Follía & María Lérida
352
52 Sweden
White & Case LLP: Carl Hugo Parment & Tobias Johansson
361
53 Switzerland
Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law Ltd: Oliver Widmer & Urs Klöti
368
54 Taiwan
Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law: Hsin-Lan Hsu & Cyun-Ren Jhou
377
55 Turkey
Paksoy: Sera Somay & Esen Irtem
385
56 Ukraine
CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz: Anna Pogrebna & Kateryna Soroka
392
57 UAE
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP: Ayman A.
Khaleq & Amanjit K. Fagura
399
58 USA
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP: Thomas Mellor & Rick Eisenbiegler
410
59 Venezuela
Rodner, Martínez & Asociados: Jaime Martínez Estévez
421
. Chapter 7
Yankee Loans – “Lost in
Translation” – a Look Back at
Market Trends in 2015
Alan Rockwell
White & Case LLP
Martin Forbes
Introduction
This chapter takes a look at market trends for Yankee Loan issuance
in 2015. “Yankee Loans” are US dollar denominated term loans
that are syndicated in the US Term Loan B market to institutional
investors and provided to European and Asian borrowers, based on
New York law credit documentation.
Historically, European and Asian borrower groups sourced most of
their financing needs through local European and Asian leveraged
finance markets and would only seek to raise financing in the US
leveraged finance market to match US dollar denominated financing
against US dollar revenue streams or in certain more limited
circumstances where there was insufficient liquidity in local markets
to finance larger transactions.
Since the beginning of 2010, the depth and liquidity of the
institutional investor base in the US Term Loan B market has
proved at times to be an attractive alternative source of financing
for some European and Asian borrower groups. It was a key source
of financing liquidity to such borrowers in the early years following
the 2008–2009 financial crisis, when financial conditions at the time
in local markets affected availability of financing for borrowers
in Europe and Asia. In more recent times, as local markets have
continued to recover and the European Term Loan B market has
started to develop, European and Asian borrowers have looked to
tap US markets on a more opportunistic basis in a search for better
pricing and terms (after factoring in currency hedging costs) in
leveraged finance transactions, whether new acquisition financings,
recapitalisations or repricings.
Market views on the outlook for Yankee Loans in 2016 continue
to be varied but factors that will determine future issuance volume
in 2016 and beyond will include supply/demand metrics in the US
and European leveraged loan markets, the impact of regulatory
oversight in both markets, whether US pricing rebounds to become
more attractive again relative to pricing terms available from lenders
in Europe and Asia, and whether the institutional investor base for
European Term Loan B continues to increase in depth and liquidity,
so that the European market gradually shifts away from the more
traditional “buy and hold” approach from bank investors and moves
towards a more liquid secondary trading market.
This chapter considers, firstly, some of the key structuring
considerations for Yankee Loans.
Secondly, it looks at how some
differences get “lost in translation”, by comparing certain key
provisions that differ between the US and European and Asian
leveraged finance markets and exploring the differences that need
to be taken into account for Yankee Loans, focusing on negative
covenants, conditionality and transaction diligence.
32
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A Look Back at 2015
The year 2015 was mixed for Yankee Loan issuance volume in the US
loan markets. Overall, volume remained solid with 139 total Yankee
Loans (including 42 Yankee Term B Loans and 6 Yankee Term A
Loans). Of those deals, 32 Yankee Loans were done on a covenantlite basis.1 Yankee Loans were issued to borrowers in a broad number
of non-US jurisdictions (including Australia, Austria, Belgium,
the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).
However, as US loan market conditions started to deteriorate in
the second half of 2015, the number of non-US issuers looking to
tap capacity in the US loan markets dropped significantly, as those
issuers looked to take advantage of better pricing and liquidity in
their own local markets.
Additionally, the convergence of terms on
both sides of the Atlantic (as noted below in more detail) means
that non-US borrowers (especially those based in Europe) are now
increasingly able to negotiate for the inclusion of all or some of
the more flexible US-style terms (in particular negative covenant
flexibility) for European-based loan transactions.
Structuring Considerations
When looking at “Yankee Loan” deals, it is important to remember
that there are a number of key structuring issues (driven primarily
by location of the borrower(s) and guarantors) that need to be
considered which may not apply in domestic US or in traditional
European or Asian transactions.
(Re)structuring is key
The primary focus of senior secured lenders in any leveraged finance
transaction is the ability to recover their investment in a default or
restructuring scenario. The optimal capital structure minimises
enforcement risk by ensuring that senior secured lenders have
the ability to control the restructuring process, which is achieved
differently in the US and in Europe and Asia.
Due to these differences, the US and European and Asian leveraged
finance markets start from very different places when it comes to
structuring leveraged finance transactions.
In the US, a typical restructuring in a leveraged finance transaction
is usually accomplished through a Chapter 11 case under the US
Bankruptcy Code, where the position of senior secured lenders as
secured creditors is protected by well-established rights and processes.
Chapter 11 allows senior secured lenders to cram down “out of the
ICLG TO: LENDING AND SECURED FINANCE 2016
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. White & Case LLP
money” junior secured or unsecured creditors and release their debt
claims, guarantee claims and security pursuant to a Bankruptcy
Court-approved plan of reorganisation.
A Chapter 11 restructuring is a uniform, typically group-wide,
court-led process where the aim is to obtain the greatest return by
delivering the restructured business out of bankruptcy as a going
concern. Bankruptcy petitions filed under Chapter 11 invoke an
automatic stay prohibiting any creditor (importantly this includes
trade creditors) from taking enforcement action which in terms
of its practical effect has global application, because any person
violating the automatic stay may be held in contempt of court by
the applicable US Bankruptcy Court. The automatic stay protects
the reorganisation process by preventing any creditor from taking
enforcement action that could lead to a diminution in the value of
the business. It is important to note that a Chapter 11 case binds all
creditors of the given debtor (or group of debtors).
Senior secured
lenders retain control through this process as a result of their status
as senior secured creditors holding senior secured claims on all (or
substantially all) of the assets of a US borrower group.
By contrast, in Europe and Asia, it is more usual for a restructuring in
a leveraged finance transaction to be accomplished through an outof-court process;2 this is typically achieved through enforcement of
share pledge security to effect a transfer of equity interests of the top
holding company of the borrower group and a sale of the business
as a going concern, although in some situations restructurings can
be achieved through a consensual out-of-court restructuring process
without enforcing transaction security.
The reason for this is that placing a company into local insolvency
proceedings in many European and Asian jurisdictions is often
viewed very negatively as the option of last resort. Suppliers
and customers typically view it as a precursor to the corporate
collapse of the business and often there is no Chapter 11 equivalent
restructuring process available in the applicable European or Asian
jurisdiction(s). The result is that entering into local insolvency
proceedings is usually value-destructive (in particular because of
the lack of an automatic stay that binds trade creditors and, in some
cases, because of a lack of clear procedures for cramming down
junior creditors).
In order for senior secured lenders to retain control of a restructuring
process in Europe or Asia, they traditionally rely on contractual
tools contained in an intercreditor agreement (principally standstill
and release provisions).
A standstill, which typically applies to junior creditors that are
party to the intercreditor agreement, operates to limit or prohibit
such junior creditors from enforcing their own security interests or
forcing borrower groups into local insolvency proceedings.
It allows
senior secured lenders to control the reorganisation of the borrower
group’s obligations by being able to prevent junior creditors from
obtaining leverage through threatening to force a borrower group
into a value-destroying local insolvency proceeding and allows
them time to implement a controlled disposal of the borrower group
through enforcement of security.
Release provisions applicable upon a “distressed” disposal of the
borrower group, i.e. upon a trigger event such as the occurrence of
a continuing Event of Default or following an acceleration event,
operate to allow senior secured lenders to sell a borrower group
free of the claims of material junior creditors that are party to the
intercreditor agreement outside of formal insolvency proceedings.
Either or both of these intercreditor provisions are designed to enable
a borrower group to be sold as a going concern and, in connection
with this, for the guarantee and security claims (and in some cases,
the primary debt claims) of junior creditors against the borrower
group entities that are sold to be released once the proceeds from
Yankee Loans – “Lost in Translation”
such sale have been applied pursuant to the waterfall provisions of
the intercreditor agreement. This practice has developed because,
unlike the US Chapter 11 framework, there is no equivalent single
insolvency regime that may be implemented across European
or Asian jurisdictions.
While the EC Regulation on Insolvency
Proceedings provides a set of laws that promote the orderly
administration of a European debtor with assets and operations in
multiple EU jurisdictions, such laws do not include a concept of a
“group” insolvency filing (and there is no equivalent law in Asia)
and most European and Asian insolvency regimes (with limited
exceptions) do not provide for an automatic stay on enforcement
applicable to all creditors.
The important distinction to note is that while a Chapter 11
proceeding binds all of a borrower group’s creditors, the provisions
of the intercreditor agreement will only be binding on the creditors
that are a party to it. Typically, these would be the primary creditors
to the group (such as the providers of senior secured credit facilities,
mezzanine or second lien facilities lenders and, in some instances,
high-yield bondholders), but would not include trade and other
non-finance creditors, nor would it include (unless execution of an
intercreditor agreement is required as a condition to such debt being
permitted) third party creditors of permitted debt (e.g. incremental
equivalent debt or ratio debt).
In view of that, consideration should
be given to requiring the third party creditors of such debt to become
bound by appropriate intercreditor arrangements for the benefit of
senior secured lenders as a condition of incurrence.
Documentation
Historically, deals syndicated in the US leveraged loan market were
those where the business or assets of the borrower’s group were
mainly in the US, albeit that some of the group may have been
located in Europe, Asia or elsewhere, and these deals traditionally
adopted the US approach to structuring: the loan documentation was
typically New York law governed and assumed any restructuring
would be effected in the US through Chapter 11 proceedings.
By contrast, historically, deals syndicated in the European or Asian
leveraged loan market were those where the business or assets of the
group were mainly in Europe or Asia, respectively, and these deals
traditionally adopted a European or Asian approach to structuring:
the loan documentation was typically English law governed, based
on the LMA or APLMA form of senior facilities agreement, and
provided contractual tools for an out-of-court restructuring in an
intercreditor agreement (typically based on an LMA form).
US Term Loan B institutional investors are most familiar with, and
typically expect, New York law and US market-style documentation.
Therefore, most Yankee Loans are done using New York law
documentation, which includes provisions in contemplation of a US
Bankruptcy in the event of a reorganisation (including, for example,
an automatic acceleration of loans and cancellation of commitments
upon a US Bankruptcy filing due to the automatic stay applicable
upon a US Bankruptcy filing).
However, while a European or Asian borrower group may be able
to elect to reorganise itself pursuant to a US Bankruptcy proceeding
(which would require only a minimum nexus with the US), most
European and Asian borrower group restructurings have traditionally
occurred outside of an insolvency process.
In light of this, to give senior secured lenders the ability to control
the restructuring process in deals that involve European or Asian
borrower groups, and protect their recoveries against competing
creditors, a Yankee Loan done under New York law documentation
should include the contractual “restructuring tools” typically
found in a European or Asian-style intercreditor agreement, most
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33
. White & Case LLP
Yankee Loans – “Lost in Translation”
notably a release or transfer of claims upon a “distressed” disposal.
Depending on the jurisdiction of the primary borrowers and material
guarantors, consideration should also be given to inclusion of a
standstill on enforcement actions applicable to junior creditors
(which in many ways can be seen as a parallel to the automatic stay
under the US Bankruptcy Code) to protect against a European or
Asian borrower group’s junior creditors accelerating their debt and
forcing the borrower group into local insolvency proceedings.
financings); and (3) the US concept of excluding certain assets from
the collateral package is not workable for certain types of “floating”
security available in some European and Asian jurisdictions; instead,
customary guaranty and security principles should operate in those
jurisdictions to reflect local market requirements.
Location of borrower and guarantors
In addition, to ensure that a European or Asian borrower group
restructuring may be accomplished through the use of the relevant
intercreditor provisions, it is important to determine an appropriate
“single enforcement point” (SPE) in the group structure where a share
pledge could be enforced quickly and efficiently, without interference
by other creditors and stakeholders, in order to effect a sale of the
whole group or business as a going concern. In this regard, the
governing law of the share pledge and the jurisdiction of the relevant
entity whose shares are to be sold should be considered to ensure that
the distressed disposal provisions in a European or Asian intercreditor
agreement may be fully taken advantage of (if needed). Particular
attention should be paid to provisions which ensure that a senior
secured lender can obtain financial information needed at the time of
enforcement to produce any required market valuations.
Legal/structuring considerations
In US leveraged loan transactions, the most common US state of
organisation of the borrower is Delaware, but the borrower could
be organised in any state in the US without giving rise to material
concerns to senior secured lenders. In Europe or Asia, however, there
are a number of considerations which are of material importance to
senior secured lenders when evaluating in which European or Asian
jurisdiction a borrower should be organised and the credit support
that can be provided by guarantors.
Borrower considerations
First, many European and Asian jurisdictions impose regulatory
licensing requirements for lenders providing loans to borrowers
organised in that jurisdiction.
Second, withholding tax may be
payable in respect of payments made by borrowers organised in
many European or Asian jurisdictions to lenders located outside
of the same jurisdiction (in particular, many “offshore” US Term
Loan B investors are unable to lend directly to a borrowers located
in certain European and Asian jurisdictions without triggering
withholding tax or interest deductibility issues). Finally, some
European and Asian jurisdictions may impose limits on the number
of creditors of a particular nature that a borrower organised in that
jurisdiction may have.
Comparing guarantees and collateral
US: The value of collateral and guarantees from borrowers and
guarantors located in the US in leveraged loan transactions is
generally not a source of material concern for senior secured lenders.
The UCC provides for a relatively simple and inexpensive means
of taking security over substantially all of the non-real property
assets of a US entity and taking security over real estate assets is,
generally, relatively straightforward and inexpensive. Furthermore,
save for well understood fraudulent conveyance risks, upstream,
cross-stream and downstream guarantees from US entities do not
give rise to material concerns for senior secured lenders.
Europe and Asia: In contrast, there are very few European and Asian
jurisdictions in which fully perfected security interests can be taken
over substantially all of a company’s non-real property assets with
the ease or relative lack of expense afforded by the UCC and taking
security over real estate assets is generally less straightforward and
can often be very expensive.
Furthermore, the value of upstream
and cross-stream guarantees given by companies in many European
and Asian jurisdictions is frequently limited as a matter of law (and
in some cases, may be prohibited altogether). This can often mean
that lenders do not get the benefit of a guarantee for either the full
amount of their debt or the full value of the assets of the relevant
guarantor. Some other factors which do not apply to US borrowers
or guarantors also need to be taken into account for European and
Asian borrowers and guarantors.
Examples include: (1) in many
jurisdictions, it is not practically possible to take security over
certain types of assets, especially in favour of a syndicate of lenders
which may change from time to time (if not from day to day); (2) in
some jurisdictions, it is not possible to take both first-ranking and
second-ranking security over the same asset (an issue in second lien
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WWW.ICLG.CO.UK
As a result, when structuring a Yankee Loan, significant consideration
should be given to the jurisdiction of borrowers and guarantors to
assess the quality and value of credit support and security that will
be available.
Investor considerations
Many institutional investors in the US leveraged loan market
(CLOs in particular) have investment criteria which govern what
type of loans that they may participate in. These criteria usually
include the jurisdiction of the borrower of the relevant loans,
with larger availability or “baskets” for US borrower loans, and
smaller “baskets” for non-US borrower loans. As a result, many
recent Yankee Loans have included US co-borrowers in an effort
to ensure that a maximum number of US Term Loan B institutional
investors could participate in the financing.
In deals where the US
co-borrower will actually incur all or a portion of the relevant loans,
careful consideration needs to be given to limitations that may affect
joint and several liabilities between US co-borrowers and non-US
co-borrowers. For example, the non US co-borrower may not
legally be able to be fully liable for its US co-borrower’s obligations
due to cross-stream guarantee or upstream guarantee limitations. In
addition, a US co-borrower may raise a number of tax structuring
considerations, including a potential impact on the deductibility of
interest, which should be carefully considered.
“Lost in Translation” – a Comparison of
Key Terms
In addition to the well-known (if not always fully understood or
appreciated) difference in drafting styles between New York
leveraged loan credit agreements and European and Asian LMA
and APLMA facility agreements, the substantive terms of loan
documentation in the US and European and Asian markets have
traditionally differed as well, with certain concepts moving across
the Atlantic in either direction over time.
Since 2010, Yankee Loan deals have been responsible for a lot of
increased flexibility for borrowers in a variety of forms moving
(initially slowly; since 2015, much more rapidly) from the US
market to the European market (and to a lesser extent the Asian
market).
These new, more flexible terms are now starting to gain far
more widespread acceptance in European deals due to a number of
factors, including “cross-pollination” (based on European sponsors
now having more experience in raising financing in US markets and
US sponsors continuing to import terms “across the pond”) and the
continued expansion of the European Term Loan B market.
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. White & Case LLP
US covenant-lite v. European covenant-lite
Covenant-lite (US and Europe): Since 2010, the US leveraged loan
market has seen the re-emergence of “covenant-lite” facilities and
these facilities have, since the beginning of 2015, also become much
more commonplace in the European leveraged loan market, with the
development of European Term Loan B facilities.
Covenant-lite facilities accounted for 29%3 market share of US
leveraged loan issuance in 2015 (a significant drop from 2014) and
45%4 market share of European leveraged loan issuance in 2015 (a
significant increase from 2014).
In covenant-lite deals, term loans do not benefit from any
maintenance financial covenant. Only the revolving facility benefits
from a single maintenance financial covenant, normally a leveragebased ratio (and this only applies on a “springing” basis, i.e. at the
end of a fiscal quarter, on a rolling LTM-basis, if utilisation exceeds
a certain trigger percentage; at the time of writing, typically ranging
between 25–35%).
More importantly, the negative covenant package for “covenantlite” facilities is either fully or partially incurrence-based in nature,
similar to what would commonly be found in a high-yield unsecured
bond covenant package, reflecting the growing convergence
between the Term Loan B and high-yield bond markets in both the
US and Europe.
Incurrence-based covenants typically provide permissions (for
example, to incur additional debt) subject to compliance with a
specific financial ratio which is tested at the time of the specific
event, rather than a maintenance financial covenant which would
require continual compliance at all times, which traditionally has
been required in secured senior bank loans by testing compliance
against a projected business plan or base case financial model.
European covenant-loose: Traditionally, European leveraged loans
were structured as full maintenance financial covenant deals (i.e.
with the benefit of four maintenance financial covenants (leverage,
interest cover, cashflow cover and capex) but the market in Europe
has now evolved to the point where nearly every deal is being done
on a “covenant-loose” basis with a reduced maintenance financial
covenant package for the benefit of both terms loans and revolving
facilities (either one or two covenants (always leverage, and
sometimes interest cover) instead of the usual four).
Both “covenant-loose” deals and traditional deals are now
increasingly following the approach in US and European covenantlite deals with respect to increased negative covenant flexibility,
although they typically do not include full US-style covenant-lite
incurred-based flexibility.
Outlook
There are differences between the US and European and Asian loan
markets that mean that for at least some deals, loan terms may never
fully converge.
The key reasons for this are (1) banks remain an
important source of liquidity in several European jurisdictions and
banks generally have not been willing to buy significant amounts of
covenant-lite debt on a take and hold basis, and (2) some European
jurisdictions have withholding tax or regulatory barriers that make
it more difficult for debt to be syndicated to institutional investors
(particularly institutional investors structured on the assumption that
they will lend to US borrowers). While deals can often be structured
to mitigate the second issue, we expect that the former issue will
mean that some European borrowers agree to include maintenance
financial covenants in transactions that would, if marketed in the
US, be much more likely to be done on a covenant-lite basis.
Yankee Loans – “Lost in Translation”
In spite of this, over time there will continue to be more convergence
between the US and European markets, because borrower groups
will continue to seek to maximise terms flexibility through adoption
of “best in class” on both sides of the Atlantic, and cross-pollination
(i.e. the same underwriting banks and borrowers, and sometimes
the same investors will already be familiar with concepts from
US or European deals) will make it easier to import new terms
into the respective leveraged loan markets.
It will take longer
for convergence to occur to the same degree with Asian markets
(because of the smaller volume of Yankee Loan deal flow).
Issues to watch out for
When agreeing to increased flexibility in negative covenant
packages in the case of a Yankee Loan provided to a European or
Asian borrower group, senior secured lenders need to consider very
carefully the impact of this when compared to similar flexibility in
negative covenant packages provided in the case of a loan provided
to a US borrower group because the result may be very different
in a restructuring scenario for European or Asian borrower groups.
In particular, the following issues are worth noting:
Debt incurrence (including incremental or accordion
baskets and ratio debt baskets)
In US leveraged loan deals, there is usually no hard cap on debt
incurrence, i.e. an unlimited amount of additional debt can be raised
subject to compliance with one or more different incurrence ratio tests.
Such debt may be equal ranking secured debt incurred pursuant to
the credit agreement (as incremental debt), typically by the existing
borrower(s) only.
It may also be incremental “equivalent” debt (relying on incremental
basket capacity), “ratio” debt or, in some deals, acquisition debt, and
such debt may be either senior secured debt (which can be in the
form of senior secured notes or in some cases in the form of sidecar
loans (the latter is typically subject to the same “MFN” protection
as incremental debt, although certain “strong” borrowers negotiate
for exceptions to this)) or junior secured, subordinated or unsecured
debt. In each case, such debt is incurred outside of the credit
agreement, which usually can be incurred by any “restricted” group
member subject to a non-guarantor cap.
More recently, some deals
in the US market have added a further restriction that senior secured
debt incurred in the form of senior notes must not be on terms that
are functionally the equivalent of a Term Loan B bank loan, to avoid
backdoor circumvention of MFN protection.
Debt incurrence flexibility works well in deals that only involve
US borrowers/guarantors, because there is generally no material
concern about being able to deal with junior secured creditors or
unsecured creditors in a restructuring or bankruptcy context.
However, in deals that involve non-US borrowers/guarantors, if
comparable debt incurrence flexibility is allowed, issues can arise
due to the fact that guarantees provided by non-US entities may be
subject to material legal limitations and/or prohibitions and because
the collateral provided by non-US entities may be subject to material
legal and/or practical limitations resulting in security over much
less than “all assets” of the relevant non-US entity, leading to some
unexpected results for senior secured lenders in a Yankee Loan deal.
Specifically, the claims of the creditors of such incremental,
incremental equivalent or ratio debt, even if junior secured or
unsecured, may rank equally, or in some cases even effectively
senior, to the guarantee claims of the senior secured lenders who
provided the main senior secured credit facilities.
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Yankee Loans – “Lost in Translation”
This may be because incremental, incremental equivalent or ratio
debt is subject to less stringent guarantee limitations or prohibitions
than the guarantee limitations or prohibitions applicable to the
senior secured acquisition finance facilities incurred to pay for the
acquisition of the applicable European or Asian borrower group or it
may be because the transaction security provided by the applicable
European or Asian borrower group is not fully comprehensive,
resulting in a larger pool of unsecured assets, the value of which
gets shared equally between senior secured creditors, junior secured
creditors and unsecured creditors with equal ranking debt claims.
the credit-support “ring-fence”. The result is that such entities are
not subject to any of the covenants or other provisions of the loan
documentation and, correspondingly, their net income is not factored
into any of the financial covenants or incurrence-condition testing of
the “restricted” borrower group. This is problematic because third
party creditors who lend money to such entities could potentially
disrupt an out-of-court restructuring by senior secured creditors
through security enforcement, by blocking a distressed disposal of
the borrower group as a going concern through foreclosure or share
pledge enforcement.
Additionally, for reasons detailed in the Structuring Considerations
section above, in the event of a restructuring accomplished by
means of a distressed disposal and release of claims, providers of
incremental, incremental equivalent or ratio debt may not be subject
to the contractual standstills or release provisions provided under a
European or Asian intercreditor agreement.
Finally, it is worth noting that historically, a “grower” did not apply
to the “fixed” or “free and clear” components for Incremental debt
baskets or Available Amount baskets but “strong” borrowers have
successfully negotiated for this in some deals in both the US and
Europe.
This had led to an increasing number of European covenant-lite
and covenant-loose transactions including provisions capping the
amount of additional debt (especially unsecured debt) that can be
incurred without the new creditors in respect of such additional debt
entering into an intercreditor agreement with the agent for the senior
secured lenders. Typically, borrowers will seek to agree the terms
of such intercreditor agreement at the outset of the deal in order
to avoid having to negotiate or obtain consent from senior secured
lenders in order to incur junior secured debt or unsecured debt in the
future.
To an extent, this is continuation of a trend in the European
market for transactions to include flexibility for several categories
of potential future indebtedness in intercreditor agreements. The
reason for doing this is to avoid senior secured lenders having a
de facto consent right over future debt incurrence (if terms have
not been agreed in advance, it is likely that obtaining such consent
may be difficult in practice because of the detailed intercreditor
provisions that are normally required in European loan transactions
and the scope for resulting disagreement between different classes
of creditors). In 2015, a small number of Yankee Loans started
to follow the same approach.
Given the general push back by
US loan investors since the start of 2016 on more aggressive loan
documentation terms, this may be one area where Yankee Loans
start to follow the approach in European loan transactions more
closely.
Investments and acquisitions
US deals now usually do not include a fixed cap (although some deals
retain requirement for pro forma compliance with a financial ratio
condition). However, it is still typical to include a non-guarantor
cap (or in some deals a guarantor coverage test requirement,
more similar to European or Asian deals, or a combination of the
two concepts). In Yankee Loan deals with little or no US credit
support, and weak guarantee/security credit support packages in
non-US locations, this normally is the subject of far more detailed
negotiation between lenders and borrowers, with tighter baskets and
sometimes fixed caps in place of incurrence ratio conditions.
To enable borrower groups to undertake additional acquisitions on
a “Sungard” or “certain funds” conditionality basis, while keeping
in place their existing capital structure, the market is now seeing:
It is now common to include “grower” baskets in both US and
European deals (including Yankee Loans) set by reference to the
greater of a fixed amount and either a percentage of Consolidated
Total Assets (historically more common) or a percentage of
Consolidated EBITDA (now becoming much more common in both
US and European deals).
These have tended to be more generous
in US deals and are of particular relevance for intercompany
transaction baskets – typically in US deals, unlimited intercompany
transactions (investments and asset transfers) are permitted between
borrowers/guarantors, but depending on the location of certain
borrowers/guarantors (especially where either guarantee or security
coverage may be weak), this may give rise to credit support value
leakage concerns in Yankee Loan deals for European or Asian
borrower groups.
The lack of any intercompany basket protection may also be
of concern in Yankee Loan deals specifically in relation to
“unrestricted” subsidiaries (a concept imported originally from
high-yield bond deals and now routinely included in Term Loan B
deals). The ability to designate “unrestricted” subsidiaries allows
a borrower group to operate a portion of its business outside of
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Limited Conditionality Acquisitions (i.e. acquisitions that
are not conditioned on obtaining financing) – satisfaction
of conditions to acquisitions and other events occurring
now tested at time of acquisition (including pro forma debt
incurrence) – what happens in relation to additional pro
forma incurrence testing with respect to other transactions in
the time between the Limited Conditionality Acquisition test
(if tested at signing) and the consummation of that acquisition
remains subject to negotiation.
â–
“Grower” baskets
â–
Limits on requirements with respect to Event of Default
blocker conditions or bring down of representation conditions.
This flexibility is now increasingly also being included in European
and Asian deals.
“Available Amount” (or “Builder”) basket for investments
and acquisitions, restricted payments and restricted junior
debt repayments
This basket builds with Consolidated Net Income (typically 50%
CNI minus 100% losses) or a percentage of Retained Excess Cash
Flow, plus certain equity contributions and returns on investments
made using the Available Amount basket – this basket may be
applied subject to certain Event of Default blocker conditions and
subject to pro forma compliance with a leverage-based incurrence
ratio condition (although leverage-based incurrence ratio condition
protection may be limited, or even excluded, in some deals).
Use
of the basket is typically subject to an incurrence ratio condition
for restricted payments (in some deals, restricted debt payments
and investments benefit from the same condition) while the extent
of Event of Default blocker conditions varies. However, market
conditions in the US tightened significantly in Q1, 2016, with
investors calling for more stringent restrictions and controls on
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Yankee Loans – “Lost in Translation”
restricted payments to equity (prior to meaningful reduction of debt
leverage). Historically, Available Amount/builder baskets were
not common in European deals but they are now being included
more frequently in European Term Loan B deals, with smaller fixed
baskets and tighter financial ratio conditions.
form interim facility agreement under which funding is guaranteed
to take place in the event that the lenders and the borrower are unable
to agree on definitive credit documentation in time for closing,
with the form of the interim facility pre-agreed and attached as an
appendix to the commitment documents (or in some more recent
cases, actually executed at the time of bid submission).
Additional unlimited baskets for permitted investments
and acquisitions, restricted payments and restricted debt
repayments
Over time, it will be interesting to see if European sellers (and their
advisors) become more comfortable with addressing documentation
risk by relying on documentation principles, and follow the US
practice for commitment documentation, given that the governing
law of the finance documents, not the jurisdiction of the seller, is
the key factor in evaluating documentation risk. However, until this
point becomes more settled, consideration will need to be given to
the appropriate form of financing documentation and the potential
timing and cost implications that may arise as a result.
These baskets allow for the application of unlimited amounts
towards permitted acquisitions and investments, restricted payments
and restricted debt payments subject to (in some cases) an Event of
Default blocker condition and (in some cases) pro forma compliance
with an incurrence ratio condition (the level typically varies in range
from at least 0.5x inside to at least 2.0x inside closing date total net
leverage, depending on the intended application/usage) rather than a
fixed cap amount. These baskets have become fairly common in US
covenant-lite deals (including Yankee Loan deals) but have yet to
be seen with any frequency in European covenant-lite or covenantloose deals or Asian syndicated deals.
Asset disposals
In US deals (including Yankee Loan deals), this is now commonly
an unlimited basket, subject to no Event of Default blocker condition
(although even this protection is excluded in some deals), and
provided that 75% of consideration is cash (or designated non-cash
consideration), sale is for fair market value and net sale proceeds
are applied and/or reinvested in accordance with mandatory
prepayment asset sale sweep provisions.
By contrast, it is still
more common in European and Asian deals to include some form
of fixed cap, although European and Asian deals do tend to include
more extensive basket carve-outs for certain identified assets (such
as the sale of “non-core” assets following the acquisition of new
businesses).
Conditionality
SunGard v. Certain Funds
Certainty of funding for leveraged acquisitions is a familiar topic in
the US, Europe and Asia. It is customary for financing of private
companies in Europe and Asia to be provided on a private “certain
funds” basis, which limits the conditions to funding or “draw stops”
that lenders may benefit from as conditions to the initial funding
for an acquisition.
Bidders and sellers alike want to ensure that,
aside from documentation risk, there are minimal (and manageable)
conditions precedent to funding at closing (with varying degrees of
focus by the bidder or seller dependent on whether the acquisition
agreement provides a “financing out” for the bidder – an ability
to terminate the acquisition if the financing is not provided to the
bidder).
Similar concerns exist in the US market, which has developed a
comparable, although slightly different approach to “certain funds”.
In the US market, these provisions are frequently referred to as
“SunGard” provisions, named after the deal in which they first
appeared.
In both cases, the guiding principle is that the conditions to the
initial funding should be limited to those which are in the control
of the bidder/borrower, but as expected, there are some familiar
differences which are relevant to consider in the context of a Yankee
Loan.
In acquisition financing, the risk that the purchaser in a leveraged
buyout will not reach agreement with its lenders prior to the closing
of the acquisition (sometimes referred to as “documentation risk”) is
generally not a material concern (or at least is a well understood and
seen to be manageable concern) of sellers in private US transactions.
Under New York law, there is a general duty to negotiate the terms
of definitive documentation in good faith and US leveraged finance
commitment documents also typically provide that the documents
from an identified precedent transaction will be used as the basis
for documenting the definitive credit documentation, with changes
specified in the agreed term sheet, together with other specified
parameters. These agreed criteria are generally referred to as
“documentation principles” and give additional comfort to sellers in
US transactions that the documentation risk is minimal.
The first key difference is that in the US market, lenders typically
benefit from a condition that no material adverse effect with respect
to the target group has occurred. However, the test for whether a
material adverse effect has occurred must match exactly that which
is contained in the acquisition agreement.
With this construct, the
lenders’ condition is the same as that of the buyer; however, if the
buyer did want to waive a breach of this condition, the lenders would
typically need to consent to this. In European and Asian private
“certain funds” deals, it is more customary for the lenders not to
have material adverse effect condition protection (in contrast to US
deals which still typically have such protection). However, lenders
usually benefit from a consent right to any material changes or
waivers with respect to the acquisition agreement, so if a European
or Asian buyer wished to waive a material adverse effect condition
that it had the benefit of in an acquisition agreement, it is likely that
this would be an action that lenders would need to consent to.
In European and Asian deals, documentation risk is generally a
much greater concern for sellers.
This can be explained in part by
the fact that there is no similar duty imposed to negotiate in good
faith under English law, the typical governing law for European and
Asian leveraged financings (and under English law, an agreement to
agree is unenforceable). Therefore, to address seller concerns about
documentation risk in European and Asian deals, lenders typically
agree with purchasers to enter into fully negotiated definitive credit
documentation prior to the submission of bids, or to execute a short-
The second key difference is that in the US market, lenders typically
benefit from a condition that certain key “acquisition agreement
representations” and certain key “specified representations”, in each
case made with respect to the target, must be true and correct (usually
in all material respects), although in the case of such “acquisition
agreement representations” these must be consistent with the
representations made by the target in the acquisition agreement
and this condition is only violated if a breach of such “acquisition
agreement representations” would give the buyer the ability to walk
Documentation Principles v. Interim Facilities and “Full Docs”
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White & Case LLP
Yankee Loans – “Lost in Translation”
away from the transaction. By contrast, in the European and Asian
markets, no representations with respect to the target group generally
need to be true and correct as a condition to the lenders’ initial
funding. The only representations which may provide a draw stop
to the initial funding are typically core representations with respect
to the bidder. Similar to the material adverse effect condition, while
these appear different on their surface, in most European and Asian
transactions if a representation made with respect to the target group
in the acquisition agreement was not correct, and as a result the buyer
had the ability to walk away from, or not complete, the transaction,
waiver of this condition would likely require the consent of the
lenders under a European or Asian “certain funds” deal.
In the context of a Yankee Loan, while the advisors to the bidder
and/or seller may be willing to provide reliance on their reports for
lenders, consideration will need to be given as to whether this is
needed and/or desired.
Lenders’ expectations may also diverge in the
context of a Yankee Loan which includes a revolving credit facility
to be provided by European or Asian banks (likely relationship
banks to the borrower or target group) as opposed to the US banks
that initially arrange and underwrite the term loan facilities.
Much like the comparison between documentation principles v.
full documents (or an interim facility), a comparison between
SunGard v. European “certain funds” reveals that despite technical
differences, the substantive outcomes are similar. Yankee Loans
continue to approach these issues on a case-by-case basis, with a
roughly even split between the US and European approaches.
Ultimately, Yankee Loans can be viewed simply as US Term Loan
B facilities provided by institutional investors to European or Asian
borrower groups (as opposed to US borrower groups).
However,
because of the fundamental differences between the manner in
which restructuring of a US borrower group and restructuring
of a European or Asian borrower group would occur in a default
situation and because of the “lost in translation” issues that have
arisen and will continue to arise in the future (caused by differing
market practices and the use of different terminology in New York
law and English law transactions), greater care must be taken when
structuring a Yankee Loan.
Diligence – reliance or non-reliance
Lenders in US leveraged finance transactions normally expect to
perform their own commercial diligence with respect to a target
group and expect their counsel to perform legal diligence with
respect to the target group, based on a combination of a review of
primary review of information available in a data room or a data
site and, sometimes, a review of diligence reports prepared by the
bidder’s advisors and/or the seller’s advisors, which are provided on
a non-reliance basis only.
Lenders in European or Asian leveraged finance transactions
normally expect to perform their own commercial diligence with
respect to a target group but also typically perform their own legal
diligence as well (sometimes, but less frequently, with the assistance
of their counsel), and such review is normally limited to a review
of diligence reports prepared by advisors to the bidder and/or the
seller (with no separate review of data room or data site materials).
However, European and Asian lenders typically do benefit from
express reliance on these reports, which is also extended to lenders
which become party to the financing in syndication. Borrowers
familiar with the US market will often seek to provide reports on
a non-reliance basis only, particularly in covenant-lite transactions.
This is something that lenders need to consider carefully, because
the underlying practice of lenders and their counsel undertaking
detailed diligence rather than simply relying on reports is typically
not duplicated outside the US.
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Conclusion
Endnotes
1.
Source: Thompson Reuters Loan Connector, 2016.
2.
While it is possible in certain European and Asian jurisdictions
to restructure through court-controlled processes that achieve
a result similar to a Chapter 11 case, this will depend entirely
on the jurisdiction of the borrower(s) and material guarantors.
3.
Source: Thompson Reuters Loan Connector, 2016.
4.
Source: S&P Capital IQ, 2016.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank Samantha Richardson, White &
Case London, and Han Rhee and Christopher Cameron, White &
Case New York, who helped with the research for this chapter.
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Yankee Loans – “Lost in Translation”
Alan Rockwell
Martin Forbes
White & Case LLP
1155 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036-2787
USA
White & Case LLP
5 Old Broad Street
London EC2N 1DW
United Kingdom
Tel: +1 212 819 7888
Email: arockwell@whitecase.com
URL: www.whitecase.com
Tel: +44 20 7532 1229
Email: mforbes@whitecase.com
URL: www.whitecase.com
Alan Rockwell is a partner in White & Case’s Bank Finance practice,
based in New York, having previously been based in London, and he
is recognised as a leading practitioner in the Banking and Finance
field by Chambers USA 2014. He is dual-qualified to advise on New
York law and English law and has extensive experience in advising on
cross-border Yankee Loan transactions syndicated in the New York,
European and Asian leveraged loan markets, with a particular focus on
representing and advising leading investment and commercial bank
arrangers and underwriters.
His experience includes advising on secured lending and restructuring/
workout transactions involving borrowers and guarantors in the US,
Europe (including Luxembourg, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain
and the UK), Asia-Pacific (including Labuan, Hong Kong and Singapore)
and Latin America, and he has acted on Yankee Loan deals for
borrowers located in France, Germany, Labuan, Luxembourg, Norway,
Spain and the UK.
Martin Forbes is a partner in White & Case’s Bank Finance practice,
based in London. His practice focuses primarily on advising private
equity sponsors, their portfolio companies and other borrowers. He
also advises banks and alternative capital providers.
Educated in the UK and the United States, clients benefit from Martin’s
contribution to the Firm’s leading US/European leveraged finance
product platform.
This combines sophisticated finance support with
the English, US and local law capability already provided by the Firm
in all the major jurisdictions in which investment and commercial banks
conduct business and private equity firms invest or raise finance.
He has experience in advising both borrowers and lenders in relation
to all major leveraged finance loan products, including bank and
bond financings as well as leveraged loans. Martin has acted on
transactions in every major European jurisdiction as well as in Asia
and the United States.
Alan also has experience advising lenders, borrowers and financial
sponsors in a wide range of other financing transactions, including
investment grade and leveraged acquisition finance, bridge finance,
refinancings, repricings, maturity extensions, debt buybacks, secured
lending and restructuring/workout transactions under both New York
law and English law.
White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with lawyers in 39 offices across 26 countries. Among the first US-based law firms to establish a truly
global presence, we provide counsel and representation in virtually every area of law that affects cross-border business.
Our clients value both
the breadth of our global network and the depth of our US, English and local law capabilities in each of our regions and rely on us for their complex
cross-border transactions, as well as their representation in arbitration and litigation proceedings.
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