England - London • Finance
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High yield

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

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Kirkland & Ellis International LLP is the leading player on the private equity sponsor side of the high yield market, counting Bain Capital among its clients, as well as acting for leading financial institutions such as Barclays Bank and HSBC, and large corporates including commodities trading group Noble. The firm consistently ranks among the top firms in the European high yield market by both value and deal volume, and the practice led by ‘consummate professional’ William Burke is ‘state of the art in terms of financial sponsor representation, and simply the best as far as leveraged finance is concerned’. Emerging partner talent Antoine Lebienvenu and Cedric Van den Borren are experienced in high-value debt securities work, with recent highlights including multi-million Euro senior notes offerings.'Matthew Merkle and up-and-coming partner Deirdre Jones assisted with bond issuances to finance the  €2.7bn financing of the acquisition of Fedrigoni by Fiber Bidco, a vehicle jointly owned by Bain Capital and BC Partners. Partners Morgan Hill and Tim Volkheimer also play pivotal roles in the practice.    

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘State of the art in terms of financial sponsor representation. Simply the best firm as far as leveraged finance is concerned. However, very aggressive with terms and negotiation - good for their clients.’

  • ‘Trained at the best firms - deliver high standard of service - faultless. Only disadvantage is they are primarily sponsor side.’

  • 'Incredibly smart and competent at their craft while at the same time able to break down individual issues to define what really matters / is less relevant for a given business. They go the extra step of translating the legal side of a given document to practicalities of why it's relevant for a business.'
  • 'Bill Burke continues to be a standout for me. Consummate professional, I know his client list is long but he somehow has the ability to give 100% focus and attention when we're working together. Seemingly has the ability to be in 10 different places at once.'

Key clients

  • Barclays Bank
  • Bain Capital
  • BC Partners
  • Belysse Group
  • Citigroup Global Markets
  • HSBC Bank
  • J.P. Morgan Securities
  • Lone Star
  • Foncia Management
  • Merrill Lynch International
  • Navacord Corp
  • Noble Group
  • STADA Arzneimittel AG
  • United Group B. V

Work highlights

  • Advised on financing in connection with the acquisition of Fedrigoni by Fiber Bidco, a vehicle jointly owned by Bain Capital and BC Partners and included a bond offering of:|€577,967,696 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2027|€300,000,000 11% Senior Secured Notes due 2027.
  • Represented LSF XI Magpie Bidco BV/SRL, a company owned by private equity fund Lone Star, in connection with the debt financing for Lone Star’s acquisition of Manuchar NV.
  • Advised Emeria (f/k/a Foncia Management), a portfolio company of Partners Group, in connection with its offering of €400 million of 7.75% senior secured notes due 2028.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
William Burke
Hall of fameKirkland & Ellis International LLP
William Burke is a partner in Kirkland’s London office and practices in Kirkland’s Capital Markets Group. Mr. Burke has extensive experience in U.S. and international finance and capital markets transactions. He has represented issuers and sponsors both in the U.S. and abroad with respect to high yield offerings, registered equity offerings, investment grade offerings, restructurings, debt tender/consent solicitations, private placements and preferred securities offerings. William also represents private equity sponsors and other clients in acquisitions, dispositions, mergers and material commercial agreements.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Cedric Van den Borren
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Cedric Van den Borren is a finance partner in the London office of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP. Cedric has extensive experience in U.S. securities law and specifically with high-yield financings. He has advised corporate clients, sponsors and underwriters in international offerings of debt securities, corporate governance, and other corporate matters.
Tim Volkheimer
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Tim Volkheimer is a capital markets partner in the London office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He has experience in leverage finance and capital markets transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Tim has acted on deals involving many of the major private equity sponsors and credit funds active in Europe including Bain Capital, Centerbridge, Lone Star and Sun Capital, advising on high yield debt offerings, registered debt and equity offerings as well as distressed financings and restructurings.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

William (Bill) Burke

Other key lawyers

Antoine Lebienvenu, Morgan Hill, Tim Volkheimer, Cedric Van den Borren

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