In Brief

In its Banking and Finance practice, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP represents commercial banks, corporate borrowers and lenders, hedge funds, insurance companies, and other institutional clients in a broad range of commercial financing transactions. Our practice includes leveraged acquisition financings, leveraged buy-outs, investment grade financings, competitive bid option facilities, multi-currency facilities, cross-border financings, bank and bond financings, asset based financings, working capital financings, second lien and subordinated financings, exit financings, recapitalizations, work-outs, debtor-in-possession financings, distressed debt purchases and sales, equipment financings and leasing, leveraged leasing, mortgage warehouse lending, municipal bond financings, insurance company note agreements, project financings, secured and unsecured financings, letters of credit, and participations and assignments.

Representative Transactions

Our Banking and Finance group has experience in representing all parties in financing transactions. Since our clients include lenders and borrowers, as well as third parties, we understand their individual needs and work to achieve transactions that protect our clients while preserving the important relationship between lender and borrower. We have extensive experience in the restructuring and insolvency area and have the ready capability to counsel our clients to avoid problems that often plague other lenders and to take advantage of the latest legal and financial innovations.

Recent transactions in which our attorneys have been involved include:

• Representing a major multinational bank in structuring and documenting an aggregate of $1.5 billion of credit facilities to a major industrial company
• Representing a major U.S. money center bank as arranger and agent in structuring and syndicating a $1.5 billion competitive bid option credit facility to a bank holding company 
• Representing a global bank as agent for a syndicate of lenders, to negotiate, document and close the transaction between the lenders and its customer, a major tire manufacturer, a $990 million financing in connection with the latter’s acquisition of another tire manufacturer 
• Representing the agent bank in structuring and documenting $1.3 billion of credit facilities to an industrial manufacturing company 
• Representing second lien lender group in restructuring of $900 million first lien and second lien debt of a global manufacturing company 
• Representing the agent bank in restructuring a project financing for West Virginia power project 
• Representing commercial lender in the $600 million leveraged buy-out of a major retail chain 
• Representing syndicate of banks in $400 million margin loan financing 
• Representing the agent bank in structuring and documenting $250 million of revolving credit facilities for a global electronics manufacturer 
• Representing the agent bank in structuring and documenting a $125 million credit facility for an automobile manufacturer 
• Representing the agent bank in structuring and documenting a $500 million revolving credit facility for a group of private equity funds 
• Representing the lender in connection with structuring and documenting a secured $500 million year end bonus facility to a hedge fund 
• Representing a lender in structuring and documenting $225 million in credit facilities to a private equity fund secured by capital calls from the fund partners 
• Representing an investment firm in a second lien financing in the amount of $41 million to refinance existing indebtedness and for general working capital purposes 
• Representing a major multinational bank in connection with structuring and documenting a $500 million loan to an estate secured by a portfolio of publicly traded securities and various limited liability company interests 
• Representing commercial bank in numerous capital markets financings as trustee, as well as collateral agent and security trustee in numerous international project financings 
• Representing agent in numerous syndicated first and second lien loan acquisition financings 
• Representing lender and equity investor in numerous middle market, senior secured and mezzanine debt financings and investments 
• Representing agent bank in $120 million syndicated secured acquisition financing of telecommunications company 
• Representing commercial bank in various financings to a hedge fund 
• Representing the agent bank in connection with structuring and documenting a $7 million syndicated debtor-in-possession credit facility to a clothing retailer 
• Representing the agent bank in connection with restructuring and documenting a $120 million syndicated credit facility and related indebtedness to an advertising company 
• Representing the agent bank in connection with restructuring and documenting a $70 million syndicated credit facility to a borrower exiting from bankruptcy
• Representing a major multinational bank in connection with structuring and documenting a $807 million loan secured by a portfolio of publicly traded securities,
  derivatives contracts, proceeds from a sale of an entertainment concern, copyrights, and various partnership and limited liability company interests 
• Representing a French lender in providing approximately $210 million in liquidity facilities to a municipality in support of its public bond issuances 
• Representing a publicly traded corporate borrower in connection with obtaining $600 million in senior secured credit facilities arranged by a major U.S. money center bank 
• Representing a corporate borrower in connection with borrowings under a $245 million senior secured credit facility and $25 million insurance company note facility in connection with an acquisition 
• Representing the corporate trustee in an indenture providing for the issuance of $250 million in senior debt securities secured by a second priority lien on mineral rights to a publicly traded corporation 
• Representing a Fortune 500 corporate borrower in connection with the issuance of $1 billion of senior and subordinated trust certificates in a series to a master trust to a commercial paper conduit in connection with a trade receivables financing facility 
• Representing a Fortune 500 corporate borrower in its $1.25 billion asset based loan facility 
• Representing an industrial borrower in connection with $395 million of syndicated credit facilities from a global consortium of lenders 
• Representing a publicly traded corporate borrower in connection with restructuring, documenting and securing $600 million of credit facilities 
• Representing a publicly traded shipping company in connection with structuring, negotiating and documenting $1.4 billion of credit facilities 
• Representing a publicly traded shipping company in connection with documenting $1.3 billion of acquisition credit facilities 
• Representing Canadian issuer in a $120 million private placement, as well as project financing in US and UK 
• Representing Fortune 500 corporate borrower in its working capital, commercial paper and capital markets financings 
• Representing a corporate borrower owned by an LBO fund in connection with obtaining $34 million in acquisition credit facilities secured by collateral in the U.S., the British Virgin Islands, the Philippines and Hong Kong

Applied Expertise

In addition to transactional work, we often provide counseling and education to clients that includes developing forms and providing practical advice on Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.