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Macfarlanes advises Four Seasons Health Care on its high profile £1.6 billion CMBS debt restructuring
Macfarlanes has advised Four Seasons Health Care on its £1.7 billion debt restructuring which completed on 9 December 2009, following eighteen months of intensive negotiations with over forty creditor institutions.
This transaction is the largest restructuring to be completed in the UK in 2009. Macfarlanes' role was to advise the Four Seasons group on the complex terms of its multi-layered debt package, to advise the boards of the group companies on solvency issues, to investigate possible merger and sale options and to negotiate, document and implement a creditor standstill, the restructuring and the restructured debt package. The intensivity of the negotiations and the complexity of the consensual transaction also involved the need for significant input from many of the firm's other practice areas including litigation, real estate, anti-trust, corporate tax and employee benefits.
The Four Seasons restructuring was very closely watched by the debt restructuring market and attracted considerable national and trade media interest not only because of the size of debt facilities that needed to be addressed (over £950 million of debt was removed from the Four Seasons balance sheet upon completion of the restructuring) but also because this restructuring was the first of an expected wave of CMBS (commercial mortgage backed securities) deals to which lenders committed at the height of the credit bubble cycle.
Ian Martin led a team of partners from the firm's Restructuring and Insolvency Group, which included Bronwen Jones (advising on debt matters), Andrew Loan (advising on tax matters), Iain Mackie (advising on litigious matters), Clive Lampard (advising on real estate matters) and Marc Israel (advising on anti-trust matters). These partners were supported by up to 15 lawyers from throughout the firm.
On the transaction, Macfarlanes worked very closely with the Four Seasons board and with restructuring firm, Talbot Hughes McKillop. Macfarlanes continues to work very closely with Four Seasons.
Quotes:
"They have provided robust legal support in our complex restructuring negotiations over many, many months, covering all bases, including finance, real estate and anti-trust. They also performed a key role in liaising with the Group's other advisers during this period that has been vital for the process".
Nick Mitchell, Finance Director, Four Seasons Health Care.
"Their rounded experience in acting at all levels within a capital structure provides valuable insight and experience as to the approach of all key stakeholders in the context of a restructuring. They have a refreshingly solutions orientated approach".
Murdoch McKillop and Julian Gething, Talbot Hughes McKillop.
