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Global Finance

Clients identify Sidley’s Global Finance group as a destination practice for high-value, complex financings across a broad spectrum of platforms, industries and asset types. Our lawyers have pioneered the development of financial instruments for the world’s financial markets. As a thought leader, an innovator and one familiar with new asset classes and esoteric offerings, we offer a comprehensive range of lending and securitization services to clients worldwide.

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Structured Finance and Securitization

Lawyers in Sidley’s Global Finance group were at the forefront of the creation of many structured finance products: mortgage-backed securities in the 1970s; asset-backed securities and commercial paper conduits in the 1980s; commercial mortgage-backed securities conduits in the 1990s; collateralized debt obligations and structured investment vehicles in the 2000s; and the restructuring of distressed structured products following the global financial crisis.

Our team works on matters across the spectrum of structured finance transactions, including repurchase agreements and other asset-based lending arrangements, term asset-backed and mortgage-backed securitizations, conduit transactions, covered bond transactions and synthetic securitizations. We have experience with every major asset class, and many esoteric asset classes, and represent clients throughout the creation, management, restructuring and termination of structured finance transactions.

As shelf counsel or designated underwriter counsel for many publicly registered securities transactions, we have substantial experience with the issues that may arise, from compliance with the applicable legal requirements, to accounting and tax law considerations. Our lawyers represent issuers and underwriters in navigating disclosure, transaction, reporting and other regulatory requirements, including those adopted or contemplated by Congress, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. We also advise clients engaged in private placements and other transactions exempt from registration.

Syndicated and Leveraged Finance

Sidley’s syndicated and leveraged finance practice is a global powerhouse and recognized market leader. Our team handles some of the most high value, complex, and sensitive transactions occurring today, ranging from large cap deals to middle market across a variety of areas and structures. We are a key player in the private equity market, advising private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, as well as public and non-sponsor backed privately held borrowers in multiple market segments including syndicated, private equity, and private credit. With offices strategically situated in key commercial and financial hubs across the world, our perspective and our reach are truly global.

We represent lead arrangers, lead agents, lenders, participants, and borrowers in syndicated and bilateral credits. These credits often have significant structural diversity, including multiple pricing and currency options. Our lawyers have substantial experience with both secured and unsecured financings, especially financings involving (i) cross-border issues; (ii) unusual types of collateral; (iii) private equity financing and sponsor-led portfolio company acquisition financings; (iv) direct lending; (v) intercreditor, participation, collateral agency, collateral trust, second lien, and debt subordination issues; and (vi) equity enhancements of debt financings. We also have extensive experience representing creditors and debtors in restructurings of troubled credits, debtor in possession financings, debt-for-equity exchange transactions, bankruptcy buyouts, and post confirmation financings.

These sophisticated financing transactions and deal structures have involved issues unique to a broad range of industries, including energy, entertainment, healthcare, insurance, real estate, private equity, media, information technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and consumer products.

Related Practice Areas

Few other firms can provide the comprehensive legal advice we offer in structured finance, leveraged finance, regulatory matters, derivatives and bankruptcy. Our financial services regulatory practice represents a broad range of financial institutions and related businesses in the U.S., the UK, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. We are particularly well positioned to keep our clients informed about breaking legal developments because lawyers in our Global Finance group represent various industry organizations, including the LSTA, SIFMA and SFIG, in crafting their responses to legislative and regulatory reform proposals.

The firm also has one of the world’s largest restructuring practices, with extensive experience and resources in the U.S., the UK, Europe, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region. Both our transactional and litigation practices are among the world’s largest and most successful. This combined experience makes us well suited to handle matters related to distressed assets, distressed structured vehicles and distressed credit and liquidity providers. Our strong securities and commercial litigation practice allows us to complement traditional transactional advice with forward-looking practical advice to minimize future disputes and manage risk. We are able to anticipate legal events and issues, formulate effective strategies and execute/litigate to implement those strategies. As financial markets and participants undergo dramatic change, we are able to provide our clients with the experience, technical knowledge and flexibility needed to operate in the new market.

Global Finance Service Areas

Additional service areas for Sidley’s Global Finance group include:

  • ABCP Conduits
  • Acquisition Finance
  • Asset-Backed Securitization
    • Auto Loans and Leases
    • Credit Card Receivables
    • Equipment
    • Other Esoterics
    • Personal Loans
    • Servicer Advance
    • Small Business Loans
    • Structured Settlements
    • Student Loans
    • Timeshares
    • Transportation Assets
    • Whole Business
  • Asset-Based Lending
  • Borrower Representations
  • CLOs/CFOs
  • CRE CLOs
  • Cross-Border Asset and Receivables Acquisitions and Securitizations
    • Credit Cards
    • Consumer Loans
    • Mortgage Assets
    • Public/Private Project Use Fees
    • Trade Receivables
  • Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securitization
  • Energy Finance
  • Equipment Finance and Leasing
    • Aircraft
    • Private Label Leasing
    • Solar Equipment
    • Vendor Programs
  • Floor Plan Finance
  • Fund Finance
  • Subscription Finance
  • Funds as Credit Providers
  • Loan Portfolio Transactions
  • Margin Loans
  • Marketplace Lending
    • Small Business Loans/Merchant Cash Advances
    • Point of Sale
    • Unsecured Consumer Loans
  • Master Limited Partnerships
  • Media and Entertainment
  • Mortgage Servicing Rights
  • Non-Performing Loans/Reperforming Loans
  • Residential Mortgage-Backed Securitization
  • Risk Retention Financing
  • Risk Transfer and Insurance Securitization
  • Single-Family Rental
  • Specialty Finance
  • Sponsor and Private Equity Finance
  • Structured Vehicles
  • Syndicated and Leveraged Finance
    • Direct Lending
    • Bridge Loans
    • Cross-Border Financings
    • Gaming, Leisure and Hospitality Finance
    • Healthcare Finance
    • Multicurrency Financings
    • REIT Finance
  • Venture and Technology Finance
  • Warehouse Facilities
  • Workouts and Restructurings
Sidley has, for decades, pioneered the development of innovative financial instruments for the world’s financial markets and that reputation for innovation extends to the Asia Pacific region. In China, our professionals provide a range of sophisticated services to the market participants in the financial services industry.

Asset-based Debt Finance, Leveraged Finance and Structured Finance

Sidley lawyers provide a full range of legal services to the regional and international financial services industry, including:

  • acquisition finance 
  • asset based lending 
  • recapitalizations 
  • derivatives 
  • leveraged finance 
  • privately placed lending facilities 
  • commercial property finance 
  • structured finance 
  • construction and development loans 
  • secured and unsecured financings

Company Representations

Sidley also represents borrowers in a variety of financings throughout a wide range of industries, including agribusiness, automotive, consumer products, energy, financial services, healthcare, insurance, master limited partnerships, mining, manufacturing, oil and gas, pipelines, pharmaceuticals, real estate, retail, regulated utilities, technology and telecommunications. Working in tandem with other practice groups, we guide our company clients through the structuring and negotiation of a variety of financing facilities including working capital facilities, pre-IPO facilities, high yield debt issuances, private equity financings, leveraged acquisition and recapitalization facilities, spinoff financings, workouts and post-insolvency lending.

Workouts and Restructurings

Sidley lawyers have significant workout and restructuring experience, on behalf of both lending and debtor clients, with respect to a variety of financing transactions. Our experience includes representing debtors and lenders in liquidity facilities, debt-to-equity exchange transactions, out-of-court sale processes, distressed asset purchases, insolvency financings, plan of reorganization exit financings, bankruptcy sales and the interpretation, negotiation and resolution of complex intercreditor and subordination issues attendant to these situations.

Financing of Esoteric Assets

We assist clients in the structuring and documentation of financing transactions involving not only traditional baskets of collateral such as trade receivables, credit cards, leases, inventory, property, plant and equipment, but also more esoteric, and often illiquid, specialty finance assets, such as satellites, coal export receivables, cell towers, servicer advances, royalty payment streams, film revenues, future flows, utility receivables, whole business securitizations and life contingent contractual cash flows. The financing of these assets is often facilitated by creative structures that we have developed such as reliance on bilateral investment treaties to reduce sovereign risk.

Structured Trade Finance

Our lawyers have represented financial institutions and other lenders on a range of structured trade finance transactions over the years, especially with respect to the financing of commodities. These secured, tailored structures are typically cross-border with multi-jurisdictional collateral issues to address, arising in both developed and emerging economies. The format might be one among several, including pre-export finance, the financing of receivables or payables, extensions of credit linked to repurchase obligations, warehouse finance, borrowing base facilities, and the financing of production facilities. Our experience with these forms of global supply chain financing has covered an array of natural resources: energy, metals, gold, agriculture, livestock, and recently even aquaculture. Given the competitive nature of this sector, we have also negotiated intercreditor and subordination agreements particular to structured trade financings.

Contacts

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