Bank Lending

S&C’s lending practice includes the representation of buyers, sellers and borrowers in strategic contexts and the representation of arrangers in the design, negotiation and syndication of innovative facilities. Our bank lending practice involves every office of the Firm, with lawyers working together on cross-border transactions and financings throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

S&C lawyers have experience with:

• large bridge financings, including roles on the acquisition financings for Philips Semiconductor, Toys “R” Us and others and familiarity with the financings involved in our significant M&A mandates such as HCA and Aramark;
• terms available to financial bidders in the U.S., London and Hong Kong loan markets, including the details of firm commitment letters in both the U.S. and European (“funds certain”) styles;
• the integration of sophisticated financial structures into standard acquisition commitment papers to lower financing costs (e.g., the design of the bridge-to-securitization structures for the Hertz and Neiman Marcus staple packages) or to reduce risk (e.g., the mitigation of sign-to-close energy price risk in the acquisition of the competitive generation business of Northeastern Utilities);
• asset-backed loans of all types;
• DIP and exit financings;
• loan securitizations;
• Term B, second lien and other common syndicated loan products in the financial institution, energy, commodity, media, telecommunications, gaming, retail, airline, automotive and other sectors; and
• novel PIK and mezzanine products, such as those utilized in the financing for the MBO of Peacock or pending private equity investments, emerging market financings and restructurings throughout Latin America, Africa and the former Soviet Union.