With deep knowledge of European and US-style financing techniques, White & Case LLP is ‘well-versed in handling complex capital structures and transactions across various jurisdictions’ for lenders and borrowers across mid-cap and large-cap deals. On the lender front, although the team remains active for a number of leading investment banks, it has perhaps gained most prominence in recent years within the private credit space. Much of this success can be attributed to the work of the ’exceptional’ Gareth Eagles, who has been a “first-mover” in the space and consequently has tremendous connections in the sector as well as ‘deep insight into industry trends’. For borrower work, team head Colin Harley provides ’solutions-oriented and practical’ advice to sponsors, both on new money mandates and refinancings, where he is adept at utilising debt throughout the capital stack including super senior RCF, TLB and second lien. Other key practitioners include the ‘exceptional’ Jeremy Duffy who has ’an ability to get deals closed’ for a bank-focused client base; the ‘highly technical’ Emma Foster who regularly partners with Eagles on private credit work; the ’incredibly knowledgeable’ Richard Lloyd who handles leveraged finance work for banks and funds as lenders; and Martin Forbes, who covers borrower-side work for investment firms.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'They are well-versed in handling complex capital structures and transactions across various jurisdictions.'
  • 'Jeremy Duffy is an exceptional lawyer with brilliant experience and an ability to get deals closed.'
  • 'Colin Harley is super reactive, solutions-oriented and practical.'
  • 'There is probably no one who knows the private credit market like Gareth Eagles as he was a rare early player to the space having been working with private credit funds for around 15 years now. He is responsive, knows his deals and clients inside out and is ahead of the curve on a lot of matters.'
  • 'Gareth Eagles is an exceptional lawyer. He is brilliant technically and has deep insight into industry trends'.
  • 'Emma Foster is highly technical and really gets deals done.'
  • 'Richard Lloyd is incredibly knowledgeable about the market and provides us with commercial advice.'
  • 'Lauren Winter is supportive, approachable, clear and succinct.'

Key clients

  • Armira Investment Holding
  • Ares Management
  • Barings
  • Blackstone Alternative Credit Advisors
  • Bridgepoint Credit
  • CVC Capital Partners
  • Deutsche Bank
  • DNB Bank
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Golub Capital
  • HPS Partners
  • JP Morgan
  • MidEuropa
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Motive Partners
  • Nordea Bank
  • Oak Hill
  • Sixth Street Partners
  • Tikehau Investment Management
  • The Carlyle Group
  • Triton Management

Work highlights

  • Represented funds managed by Barings Asset Management as arranger on a jumbo financing for the recommended takeover offer for Medica Group by IK Partners.
  • Representation of the direct lenders on GTCR's acquisition of Once For All, an industry-leading company providing supply chain and risk management software solutions for the construction sector.
  • Representation of MidEuropa on the debt financing for its acquisition of a majority stake in Optegra, a European ophthalmology platform operating in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and the UK.

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.

Colin Harley

Other key lawyers

Jeremy Duffy, Gareth Eagles, Emma Foster, Martin Forbes, Richard Lloyd, Shane McDonald, Nicola Chapman, Peter Mason, Lauren Winter, Man Hay Yip