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27 January 2017

Macfarlanes advises USS on majority stake purchase of middle-market fund financing facilities from Credit Suisse

Macfarlanes has advised Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USS), the sole corporate trustee of one of the UK’s largest pension funds, on an arrangement to provide senior debt finance to global private equity and asset management companies and the related purchase by USS of a majority stake in a portfolio of middle-market loans to direct lending funds and on-going risk management and origination services from Credit Suisse AG, London Branch.

The portfolio is valued at $3.1bn and is secured by an underlying portfolio of loans to medium-sized European companies.

This is the first time that a UK pension fund has collaborated with an investment bank to provide senior portfolio financing to the middle-market sub-sector on this scale. 

As part of the transaction, Credit Suisse will perform a range of services in relation to the existing portfolio. This includes on-going risk management and origination services.

The large Macfarlanes team was led by banking and finance partner Richard Fletcher alongside tax partner Damien Crossley, derivatives and trading partner William Sykes, employment partner Hayley Robinson and financial services partner Michelle Kirschner. Further expertise was provided by commercial partner Rupert Casey, investment management partner Alex Amos, corporate and M&A partner Alex Edmondson and pensions partner Camilla Barry.

The partners were assisted on this matter by banking and finance solicitors Triona Ryan, John Donnelly and Pooja Jain, tax senior counsel Hilary Barclay, derivatives and trading solicitor Edward Swainston, employment solicitor Helen Noel and financial services solicitor Romin Dabir.

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