One of the largest transactions closed by Willkie Farr & Gallagher in 2011 was worth €945 million when Daniel Hurstel and Julien Mougel led the team advising CMA CGM on its senior notes issuance composed of $475 million 8.5% dollar-denominated senior notes due 2017 and €325 million 8....
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One of the largest transactions closed by Willkie Farr & Gallagher in 2011 was worth €945 million when Daniel Hurstel and Julien Mougel led the team advising CMA CGM on its senior notes issuance composed of $475 million 8.5% dollar-denominated senior notes due 2017 and €325 million 8.875% euro-dominated senior notes due 2019.
Partner Eduardo Fernandez was involved advising on some private placement mandates. One example saw him act for Sodexo on the private placement worth $600 million in senior unsecured notes; the other saw him advising Ipsos on the private placement of senior notes worth €300 million.
Elsewhere Amir Jahanguiri led the team advising Arkema on a €500 million bond issue which closed in October 2010.
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At the beginning of 2011, two notable departures at the firm saw partner Stephane Sabatier join Norton Rose's corporate and finance team, whereas partner Laurent Faugérolas moved to Weil Gotshal's Paris office.Despite these big blows, the firm's corporate department in Paris still managed to complete a number of decent mandates....
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At the beginning of 2011, two notable departures at the firm saw partner Stephane Sabatier join Norton Rose's corporate and finance team, whereas partner Laurent Faugérolas moved to Weil Gotshal's Paris office.
Despite these big blows, the firm's corporate department in Paris still managed to complete a number of decent mandates. One rival describes the quality of the deals as "very good".
One highlight, saw partners Eduardo Fernandez and Cédric Hajage work together advising Arkema on the acquisition of Total's resins businesses. The nature of the €550 million transaction involved a series of antitrust and environmental issues, as well as a spin-off.
Another notable deal saw partners Daniel Hurstel and Julien Mougel advise CMA CGM, a French shipping business organisation, on its $500 million investment received from a Turkish family-owned company Yildirim, in return for a 20% stake. The deal was completed in a politically sensitive environment in December 2010.
The team has also been busy in the joint venture space. Partners Annette Péron and Hajage were involved when they advised France Telecom in its 50/50 procurement joint venture transaction with Deutsche Telekom, assisted by Clifford Chance on the other side. It is expected that both parties will make substantial savings through the joint partnership.
Another highlight saw Fernandez lead the team advising on Teva's €265 million acquisition of Théramex from Merck.
On the private equity side, a key client of the firm is PAI Partner, who has been advised by a Paris team on a number of occasions. One example saw the partners Hajage and Daniel Payan head the team advising the private-equity firm on the sale of its interests in Yoplait to General Mills, worth €1.6 billion.
Another example saw Payan team up Fernandez advising on PAI's acquisition of Cerba Labs' majority stake, valued at €540 million. Christophe Garaud also advised the private-equity house in relation to its €535 million acquisition of Kiloutou through a secondary LBO.
March 2011 also saw the firm advise Bain Capital when partners Hajage and Payan acted on the sale of its interests in Novacap to Axa Private Equity. The transaction was worth €240 million.
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher has moved up one tier this year after hiring a team of project finance lawyers from Freshfields, including a group of 10 associates led by energy and infrastructure project finance partner Amir Jahanguiri and former environment partner Thierry Laloum.The firm grabbed the largest PPP (public-private partnership) project in 2011 when Jahanguiri and Laloum advised the European Investment Bank (EIB) in relation to the financing of the €8 billion high-speed railway linked between Tours and Bordeaux (LGV SEA)....
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher has moved up one tier this year after hiring a team of project finance lawyers from Freshfields, including a group of 10 associates led by energy and infrastructure project finance partner Amir Jahanguiri and former environment partner Thierry Laloum.
The firm grabbed the largest PPP (public-private partnership) project in 2011 when Jahanguiri and Laloum advised the European Investment Bank (EIB) in relation to the financing of the €8 billion high-speed railway linked between Tours and Bordeaux (LGV SEA). The mandate was closed at end of May.
In another €1.2 billion transaction, the duo again advised a consortium formed by Vinci, Vinci Concessions, Axa IM, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and Keolis acting as one of the bidders, on the project financing of the concession for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of the CDG Express railway.
Elsewhere, the team advised a group of banks, including BBVA and Crédit Agricole alike, on the financing of the partnership contract for the design, financing, construction and maintenance of the Olympic Stadium in Nice.
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Partner Maurice Lantourne has been involved in most of the key deals since last May, and he is a recognised expert in restructurings of financially troubled companies. One rival says: "He's the leading partner at the firm....
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Partner Maurice Lantourne has been involved in most of the key deals since last May, and he is a recognised expert in restructurings of financially troubled companies. One rival says: "He's the leading partner at the firm."
One of the notable transactions saw him lead the team advising CMA CGM in the restructuring of its financial indebtedness and the entry of a new investor Turkish Yildirim Group. The $5 billion debt transaction was closed in a politically sensitive environment in April this year.
Another highlight again involved Lantourne, who teamed up with Paul Lombard, a newly recruited special European counsel from Allen & Overy, in advising Groupe Partouche on its debt restructuring negotiations, and the entry of Butler Capital into its share capital. The mandate was worth €430 million.
Last year's debt restructuring work saw partner Alexandra Bigot work together with Lantourne, representing Oaktree in its €590 million takeover of SGD. It is considered to be the first loan-to-own deal in France. "She's a leading partner and very competent," says one rival.
Again Bigot teamed up with Lantourne to advise Wendel and Deutsch Connectors in a financial restructuring, which used the combined approach of potential US Chapter 11 and sauvegarde (safeguard) proceedings. The deal was valued at €510 million.
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