Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clyde & Co have won the leading roles on British steel trader Stemcor's $2.24bn (£1.36bn) debt restructuring.

The debt deal involves the conversion of the company's existing revolving credit facilities into a term loan with a maturity date of December 2015, together with the provision of a $1.15bn (£696m) new syndicated trade finance facility.

The restructuring comes after the UK independent trader failed to refinance an $850m (£516m) European revolving credit facility by the maturity date in May 2013, resulting in cross-defaults on its other debt.

Clydes, which is a regular advisor to Stemcor, acted on the trade finance facility with a team headed up by London trade finance partner Philip Prowse.

Freshfields advised on other restructuring aspects of the deal in what was a first-time mandate from the company, fielding a team comprising restructuring partner Nick Segal, finance partner Geoff O'Dea and head of banking Neil Falconer.

Both firms worked closely with Stemcor's in-house legal team, led by general counsel Graham Donnell, a former partner at A&O, and in-house counsel Jessie Gill.

A&O acted for the co-ordinating committee of creditors with a team led by banking partners Katrina Buckley and David Campbell. The restructuring also included input from A&O's tax, corporate and pensions departments.

Buckley said: "The breadth of the group's operations and lending relationships across the globe coupled with the complexities arising from the group's need to have access to uncommitted trade finance throughout the period of the restructuring gave rise to a number of challenging issues. Key to the success of the restructuring was creating stability and building creditor support for a global solution."