High yield

Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP

Client Satisfaction

At Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP, ‘the team is super responsive, knowledgeable and well organised’. Clients also note that the firm has ‘great bench strength across high yield, which is further augmented by a very strong restructuring team’. Andy Hagan, who handles both public and private high yield issuances and is ‘incredibly smart, hardworking and switched on’, and Gilles Teerlinck, who is a key adviser to both issuers and underwriters, are the lead partners. Their work encompasses a wide range of transactions, such as bridge-to-bond LBO financings, refinancings, P2Ps, public and private PIKs, and private high yield taps, as well as tender/exchange offers and consent solicitations. The team in London works closely with US and European offices to handle deals in the UK, Italy, France and Germany. Nitin Konchady moved to the New York office.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘The Weil team has been incredible in all the transactions we have been involved with. The team is super responsive, knowledgeable and well organised. The team is always a pleasure to work with.’
‘What stands out most is their availability. Both Gilles Teerlinck and Pierre Brule are more responsive than their counterparts in other firms. We know we can rely on them to highlight the most critical points in transactions, they have strong opinions and a deep knowledge of high yield transactions. They are always willing to go the extra mile and can be consulted outside the transaction context. Their processes are impeccable and we can always rely on them to meet the required deadlines. Highly recommended.’
‘Great bench strength across high yield which is further augmented by a very strong restructuring team. Team strength in Europe and the United States is a particular advantage given the increasing global nature of the deals. They are my go-to firm.’
‘Andy Hagan is the most commercial lawyer I have worked with. Uncharacteristically, he also loves the law and is extremely technical. He was the key individual on a large team that made a difficult third party tender across six different instruments come off. It would not have happened without him. Always willing to help with questions and bring in the wider Weil team and take a back seat when matters are outside of his core expertise. A real team player.’
‘Excellent capabilities in high yield and leveraged finance. Experienced, knowledgeable, always ready to pounce. Highly sought after for sponsor work, extensive experience with emerging markets issuers and just all around excellent.’
‘Andrew Hagan is my go-to lawyer in the high yield space – incredibly smart, hardworking, switched on and just a super nice guy. He will get any deal over the line and he amazes me always with the depth of his knowledge and his creativity.’
‘Andrew Hagan is an incredible asset to the Weil partnership, his experience and market insights were invaluable. He exemplified a client-centric approach with an absolute focus on getting things right for our business. He demonstrated an incredible mix of deep technical knowledge alongside a supportive approach. There was no discussion too big or small to have with him, and our management team found him particularly reassuring.'
‘Superbly integrated high yield and leveraged finance team. Seamless integration across leveraged finance and high yield, particularly on complex cross-border transactions. Stellar associates and highly engaged, hands-on partner coverage throughout the transaction. Every member of the team is in command of all aspects of the deal. The team has a highly collaborative approach that drives optimal client outcomes.’

Key clients

Ad hoc group of noteholders of Ideal Standard
Ad hoc group of bondholders – Worldwide Flight Services
Ardian
Groupe Casino
Cazoo
BNP Paribas
Paprec| Holding
Schoeller| Packaging B.V. (a Brookfield portfolio company)
SAS – Scandinavian Airlines
Bain Capital and Kantar Group
Howden Group
Clearwater Recovery Partners LLP
Ceva Santé Animale
One Investment Management

Work highlights

Advising Ardian on the financing for the acquisition of US Pharma Lab.
Issuer counsel to Howden on its debut offering of $1,000,000,000 senior secured notes due 2031 and $500,000,000 senior notes due 2032.
Advising the Casino Group on a dual-track turnaround plan consisting of a (i) financial restructuring of €9bn of its indebtedness and (ii) €1,200m equity injection by EP Equity Investment III s.à r.l., Fimalac and Attestor Ltd (the “Consortium”).