Freshfields takes lead on £13.3bn BAA refinancing
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has taken a lead role advising on the landmark £13.3bn refinancing of airport operator BAA. The magic circle firm has advised the company, which today (20 August) was warned by the Competition Commission that it may have to sell three of its seven UK airports, on the refinancing - acting opposite a raft of City firms. Freshfields finance partners Ian Falconer and Marcus Mackenzie led the team for Freshfields, with the firm effectively working on the refinancing ever since BAA was bought by a consortium led by Spanish construction group Ferrovial in 2006.
August 20, 2008 at 11:54 AM
3 minute read
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has taken a lead role advising on the landmark £13.3bn refinancing of airport operator BAA.
The magic circle firm has advised the company, which today (20 August) was warned by the Competition Commission that it may have to sell three of its seven UK airports, on the refinancing – acting opposite a raft of City firms.
Freshfields finance partners Ian Falconer and Marcus Mackenzie led the team for Freshfields, with the firm effectively working on the refinancing ever since BAA was bought by a consortium led by Spanish construction group Ferrovial in 2006.
Around £3bn of the refinancing will be used to fund immediate investment projects across all seven of the airports. The refinancing package for designated airports Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted includes some £5bn of bond issues as well as senior lending facilities, with a separate £1.25bn bank financing put in place for the other UK airports.
Herbert Smith and Lovells are also believed to have advised BAA on some real estate aspects of the deal.
Meanwhile, acting for the banks, Clifford Chance structured finance partner Stephen Curtis and structured debt partner Emma Matebalavu led a team from the firm's London office advising Citi and Royal Bank of Scotland, while Latham & Watkins advised Lloyds TSB.
Falconer told Legal Week: "It's a big amount of money in the current market and that's one reason why no-one was taking it for granted that the deal would go ahead. Anything could have happened on a macro level to make it impossible.
"BAA Funding Limited [the issuer set up to finance the designated airports] is expected to become the most significant corporate bond issuer in Europe over the coming years as BAA seeks to refinance the bank funding of the designated airports with long-term bond finance. I think there will be a lot of activity from companies seeking to issue bonds to repay bank debt."
Herbert Smith has continued to advise BAA in relation to the Competition Commission report.
Citi and RBS were exclusive arrangers of the refinancing and exclusive dealer managers of the consent solicitation made to BAA's existing bondholders. Citi and RBS were also – along with other financial institutions – mandated lead arrangers of the new credit facilities.
Nancy Eller and Mark Atkinson of CMS Cameron McKenna advised the trustee of the BAA pension fund.
More news, deals and comment on Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Hengeler Advises On €7B Baltica 2 Wind Farm Deal Between Ørsted and PGE
2 minute read
Slaughter and May and A&O Shearman Advise as Latest UK Company Goes American
3 minute read
Linklaters Continues Renewable Energy Hot Streak With Latest Offshore Wind Farm Project
2 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1Uber Files RICO Suit Against Plaintiff-Side Firms Alleging Fraudulent Injury Claims
- 2The Law Firm Disrupted: Scrutinizing the Elephant More Than the Mouse
- 3Inherent Diminished Value Damages Unavailable to 3rd-Party Claimants, Court Says
- 4Pa. Defense Firm Sued by Client Over Ex-Eagles Player's $43.5M Med Mal Win
- 5Losses Mount at Morris Manning, but Departing Ex-Chair Stays Bullish About His Old Firm's Future
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
