In a period of transition following the departure in November 2023 of core team members Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea to Kirkland & Ellis International LLP, borrower-focused firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP still maintains a strong offering on the funds front and the corporate front for fund finance matters. On the leveraged finance side, Shahpur Kabraji now heads the team, which has historically strong expertise advising sponsors and their portfolio companies on the full spectrum of financial products, from bank and bond financings through to unitranche facilities. The arrival of Paul Hibbert from Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP in March 2024 is a notable hire in light of his acumen at handling borrowers, including private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, on complex acquisition and leveraged finance matters in the infrastructure space.

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Key clients

  • Cegid Group
  • Flutter
  • MasMovil
  • NorthWall Capital
  • Orange Spain
  • Silver Lake

Work highlights

  • Representation of Flutter Entertainment plc in a landmark multi-stage refinancing of its capital structure, issuing a new £1.5bn equivalent term loan A (TLA) and $2.68bn term loan B (TLB), and upsizing its revolving credit facility (RCF) to £1bn to investors in Europe and the US.
  • Representation of Cegid Group in its €700m dividend recapitalisation, which was one of the first transactions to take advantage of improved market conditions at the end of 2023 and started a wave of repricing and dividend recapitalisations in the European financing market.
  • Representation of MasMovil (including its shareholders KKR, Cinven and Providence Equity) and the joint venture co-controlled by Orange and MasMovil in the financing for the announced combination of MasMovil and Orange Spain, one of the largest telecoms sector combinations in recent years and a landmark transaction in the Spanish telecoms sector.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Shahpur Kabraji

Other key lawyers

Paul Hibbert