Global Finance

The firm's Global Finance Practice Group consists of approximately 60 attorneys, in addition to a number of attorneys in complementary practices.  The group focuses on the representation of lenders, borrowers, underwriters and issuers in a wide variety of debt and structured finance transactions, including leveraged loans, high yield bond offerings, first lien/second lien financings, mezzanine and subordinated debt, project finance, equipment financings, securitizations and restructurings.  Over the last year, the group has been involved in a large number of in court and out of court restructuring transactions ranging from exchange offers for outstanding debt to DIP and exit financings.

The firm consistently ranks among industry leaders in leveraged finance transactions.  Much of the firm’s work involves complex customized financings, rather than commoditized work.  The Gibson Dunn finance group’s leverage (ratio of associates to partners) is significantly lower than that of comparable groups at peer firms, enhancing our quality control.  As counsel to both capital providers and capital users, the group’s lawyers understand the issues critical to all participants in financing transactions.  Gibson Dunn is proud of the firm’s team-oriented approach among offices and across practice groups, which ensures that all members of the group are informed on recent developments and issues.  The group’s clients include private equity firms, hedge funds, major investment and commercial banks and companies at the forefront of market developments, giving us sophisticated current market knowledge. 

Members of the Global Finance Group have extensive experience in the following areas:

Secured and Unsecured Loans

• Corporate credits - secured and unsecured loans to corporations and other business entities for general corporate purposes.
• Leveraged loans - secured loans, including first and second lien structures, to finance acquisitions of companies or major assets, recapitalizations and other purposes involving highly leveraged or non-investment grade borrowers.
• Asset based credits - secured credit facilities where the credit extended is based not on the cash generation of the business generally, but rather on the liquidity of specific assets, such as accounts receivables and inventory.
• Backstop facilities - secured and unsecured credit facilities for investment grade companies which provide "backstop" liquidity or credit enhancement for their commercial paper facilities or other public debt obligations.

High Yield

• High yield - Registered public offerings and Rule 144A and Regulation S placements of high yield debt securities issued by non-investment grade issuers to mutual funds and other institutional investors, often to finance acquisition transactions.
• High yield bridge facilities - credit agreements that backstop high yield debt transactions, mostly to finance acquisitions.

Second Lien and Mezzanine Finance

• Second lien facilities - unsubordinated debt facilities secured by liens junior to liens securing credit facilities.
• Mezzanine debt - "true" private placements of subordinated debt, often coupled with warrants, ranging from traditional structures involving mostly insurance company investors to alternatives involving strategic or other financial investors, including "PIPES" transactions.

Public Debt

• Investment grade bonds - debt securities issued in the capital markets by major U.S. and foreign corporations.
• Convertible bonds - bonds convertible at the option of the holder into equity securities of the issuer.
• Medium term notes & commercial paper - issuance of short or medium term notes by investment grade issuers or asset backed vehicles.

Private Placements

• Traditional insurance company - placements of secured or unsecured notes to insurance companies and other institutional investors.
• Strategic investment - debt financings extended by major established companies in industry sectors (such as technology companies) to emerging or venture-stage companies.
• Financial investment - privately negotiated issuances of secured or unsecured notes to investment funds or other financial investors, often coupled with warrants or other equity features.

Structured Finance

• Asset backed securities - securitizations of financial assets other than mortgage loans - such as auto loans and credit card receivables.
• Mortgage backed securities - securitizations of mortgage loans, including single and pooled commercial mortgages.
• Receivables securitizations - sales of trade and other commercial receivables by originators.
• CLOs/CBOs/CDOs - securitizations of commercial loans ("CLOs"), high yield bonds ("CBOs") or combinations of those assets ("CDOs") through issuance of securities backed by the pooled cash flows or market values of these assets.
• Customized structures - for special corporate needs, such as financing of future delivery obligations to enable early progress payments.
• Derivatives - a wide variety of credit and equity derivative transactions, including total return swaps, credit default swaps and credit-linked notes.

Restructurings and Bankruptcy Finance

• Workouts and restructurings - non-bankruptcy workout and restructuring of senior, mezzanine and first lien/second lien credit facilities on behalf of issuers and creditors.
• Consent solicitations and exchange offers - solicitations of consents to amendments of high yield indentures and other debt instruments, and offers to exchange outstanding debt securities for different debt or equity securities, often as part of a broader restructuring of the issuer's balance sheet.
• Debtor-in-possession financings - DIP financings for companies in chapter 11 proceedings, whether on an independent basis or in connection with a pre-packaged plan or reorganization or other planned sale or acquisition of assets.
• Bankruptcy Exit Financings - exit financings for companies emerging from bankruptcy.

Project Finance

• Greenfield Projects - secured loans to newly-formed entities to finance the development, construction and operation of discrete revenue-generating assets (such as a power plant, pipeline, industrial facility, or toll road) or business segment (such as a telecommunications network, media provider, or water or power distribution network).
• Privatizations and acquisitions - secured loans to newly-formed entities, or limited-recourse loans to existing business operations, for the purpose of financing the acquisition and expansion of existing infrastructure facilities or networks, or discrete business segments of a formerly-integrated business operation.
• Emerging markets - cross-border lending transactions in emerging markets, frequently involving the use of international risk-mitigation products (such as political risk insurance, co-lending under A/B structures, and other credit support from private and public agencies).

Equipment Finance

• Leveraged leasing - complex lease financings and sale-leasebacks for large capital assets, such as aircraft, power plants and industrial facilities.
• Operating and capital lease financing - lease financing intended to achieve sales, or non-sales, treatment in connection with non-fixed assets, such as in the case of computer and technology equipment.
• Synthetic leasing - structured lease transactions intended to legitimately allocate tax and accounting treatments arising from leases of capital assets.
• Islamic financing - leases and asset sales transactions structured to comply with Islamic law.