Freshfields US lateral hires bring in key role on Alitalia bankruptcy
Kaye Scholer lateral hires lead magic circle team on Italian airline bankruptcy
June 15, 2017 at 05:41 AM
3 minute read
A pair of recent lateral hires by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have helped the firm swoop in for a lead role on the bankruptcy of Alitalia, after the ailing Italian airline sought Chapter 15 protection in the Southern District of New York.
Freshfields bankruptcy partners Madlyn Primoff and Scott Talmadge are advising Alitalia in its US restructuring, which comes a little more than a month after the company filed for bankruptcy in Italy. The US bankruptcy proceeding seeks to safeguard Alitalia's assets in this country as it prepares to sell itself abroad.
Neither Primoff nor Talmadge responded to requests for comment about their work on behalf of Alitalia. Both lawyers joined Freshfields in April with colleague Mark Liscio, having previously worked together at Kaye Scholer. Earlier this year, Kaye Scholer agreed to merge with Arnold & Porter and form Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer.
Liscio, Primoff and Talmadge joined Kaye Scholer in 2005 from Clifford Chance (CC), which at the time was still digesting a mega-merger from a few years prior with New York's Rogers & Wells. CC advised Alitalia on its $2.35bn sale in 2014 of a 49% stake in itself to Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways, which turned to DLA Piper for outside counsel on the deal.
Etihad also turned to DLA Piper in 2013 to advise on its $379m purchase of a 24% stake in India's Jet Airways. DLA Piper was the firm tapped in May by Etihad-backed Alitalia to handle its Italian restructuring. Former DLA Piper partner Matteo Mancinelli, who advised on Alitalia's negotiations with Etihad, became the airline's general counsel in early 2015.
Alitalia, which has a long history of financial problems, has continued operations despite its administration in Italy, although the company now faces certain payment deadlines in the US in order to preserve its access to New York's John F Kennedy International Airport. Alitalia states in court documents that US flights make up about 30% of its global revenue.
US bankruptcy judge Sean Lane in Manhattan is presiding over Alitalia's Chapter 15 case. Freshfields, which has been advising Etihad this year as it examines strategic options for its stake in Air Berlin, has not yet filed billing statements with the bankruptcy court detailing its work on behalf of Alitalia.
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