Baker McKenzie‘s trade and export finance practice predominantly handles high-value, cross-border and complex transactions, leveraging the firm’s global footprint and its deep relationships with lenders, export credit agencies, commodity traders, multilateral institutions and corporate borrowers. The team, led by Luka Lightfoot, handles the full spectrum of trade finance work from ECA-covered export financings and commodity-based financings to borrowing base facilities, pre-export financings, and large-cap syndicated loans. Jeremy Levy– from the firm’s structured capital markets group- focuses on the more structured trade finance deals, such as invoice discounting, receivables securitisation, and factoring deals, working frequently with major platform providers. Philip Thomson, who leads at the firm’s energy transition division, oversees trade finance deals in areas such as sustainable aviation fuel and carbon capture products. As an energy transactional lawyer with experience in commodity-linked finance, he is often involved in pre-export financing trades. Lightfoot recently assisted Standard Chartered with a $111m Islamic financing to the Republic of Senegal to support the installation of 50,000 solar-powered streetlamps in rural areas.
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Key clients

  • Advent International
  • Accell Group
  • Ahlstrom-Munksjo Oy
  • Aptiv Global Operations Limited
  • Astorg
  • Bain Capital
  • Bradesco Bank
  • Cinven
  • Cobham Limited
  • Commerzbank
  • Credit Agricole Leasing and Factoring
  • Demica

Work highlights

Advised ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH) on its strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi’s mining champion, International Resources Holding RSC Ltd (IRH), investing through its wholly owned subsidiary, Delta Mining Limited (Delta).
Advised Finalbion, a new alternative finance provider and FinTech, on ongoing items and amendments involving its third warehouse securitisation which is backed by factoring receivables, reverse factoring/supply chain finance receivables and loan receivables originated by the group.
Advised Standard Chartered and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credits (ICIEC) on the finalisation of their EUR 103 million (USD 111 million) Islamic financing to the Republic of Senegal, which is covered by ICIEC’s Non-Honoring of Sovereign Financial Obligation (NHSFO).

Lawyers

Leading partners

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

Practice head

Luka Lightfoot

Other key lawyers

Jeremy Levy; Philip Thomson