US > Finance > Bank lending: South
Bank lending: South
PRACTICE: ‘Very responsive across the board’, Thompson & Knight LLP’s bank lending practice advises a broad spectrum of lenders and borrowers, including corporates, banks, insurance companies and pension fund managers. With 12 partners housed in its Dallas and Houston offices, the practice boasts ‘a seasoned and experienced group of lawyers’ able to handle a high volume of syndicated and leveraged loans.
While the firm’s industry knowledge spans many sectors, including real estate, it is its expertise within the oil and gas arena that is without doubt its sweet spot. ‘Active in the energy business for generations and generations’, the department handles a voluminous catolog of syndicated financings for a predominantly lender-side client base. It recently advised Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank on $448m and $1.5bn syndicated loans provided to Ferrelgas and Berry Petroleum, respectively.
CLIENTS: Clients include Petrohawk Energy, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Energy Capital, Virginia Resource Partners, Wells Fargo, Commercia Bank and Jeffries & Co.
INDIVIDUALS: Particularly active on oil and gas financings, Dallas-based partner James McKellar provides ‘faultless execution’ to lenders and corporates.
Based in the firm’s Houston office, Andrew Flint ‘is a driving force behind many of our transactions’, enthuses one energy sector client. His primary focus is on syndicated senior and subordinated energy credit facilities, as well as drilling rig and rig fleet financings. ‘He is responsive and able to use his experience to offer us a practical and workable solution’, say clients.
PRACTICE: Based in Texas but able to tap into the resources of an increasingly expansive network of offices, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. ‘performs the highest quality work’ for a robust portfolio of borrowers and lenders. ‘Although not inexpensive, they perform the work in a very cost-effective manner and do an excellent job of keeping me informed as necessary’, say clients.
Spearheaded out of its Houston office, a significant percentage of banking work the practice handles is in energy-related financings, where it remains one of the nation’s outstanding performers. ‘Consistently excellent’, the department represented the arrangers in a $500m revolving credit and acquisition facility for a master limited partnership (MLP). The practice also recently acted for the administrative agent on combined $4bn syndicated loan facilities to a major energy company.
‘Knowledgeable and thoughtful’, the team is also regularly instructed on the financing of transactions carried out by the firm’s flourishing portfolio of fund clients.
CLIENTS: Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.’s clients include BNP Paribas, Group 1 Automotive, Duke Energy, UBS and Citigroup.
INDIVIDUALS: Chair of the firm’s syndicated finance group, Houston-based partner Kenneth Anderson advises both corporates and lenders in acquisition, MLP, energy and multi-currency financings.
Also in Houston, Robert Rabalais is admired for his commercial and capital markets financing acumen. Regularly instructed by BNP Paribas, he recently advised the bank on a $1.9bn acquisition bridge commitment for Petrohawk to acquire KCS.
PRACTICE: With 15 partners dispersed across its Dallas, Houston and Austin offices, Baker Botts, L.L.P.’s bank lending group ‘has a very deep bench from which to draw’ and is a mainstay of the southeastern legal market. With a less balanced client portfolio than its higher-rated competitors, its primary focus lies in relation to the ‘very efficient and cost-effective service’ it provides to borrowers, particularly those operating in the energy sector.
Active across the range of financing activities, from syndicated credit facilities and asset-based loans to mezzanine and high-yield transactions, the team recently advised Encore Acquisition on two separate $1.25bn syndicated revolving credit facilties. Other recent highlights include advising independent oil and gas company, Mariner Energy, on two $1bn syndicated revolving credit facilities.
CLIENTS: Clients include Transocean, Exterran Holdings, Hercules Offshore, Encore Acquisition, Mariner Energy, Halliburton, Valero Energy and Dell.
INDIVIDUALS: ‘Responsive, professional and knowledgeable’, say clients, Houston-based partner Bill Hart is particularly strong in relation to energy financings, where his clients include both lenders and borrowers.
Austin-based partner William Stutts is ‘excellent for both structured finance and traditional finance’, say clients. Also recommended is ‘the outstanding’ Dallas-based Roderick Goyne, who serves as the head of the finance section of the firm’s corporate department.
PRACTICE: ‘First-rate’, say clients, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP’s Texas-based bank lending group provides a ‘great service’ to clients for financing mandates, from traditional corporate finance deals to more complex structured financings.
Steeped in the nuances of the energy industry, it is often sought out by banks and borrowers for ‘the business-orientated’ advice it is able to provide in the sector. For example, it recently advised several banks, including Fortis Bank and Natixis, as lead arrangers in a $400m senior secured revolving and term loan facilities to Vantage Drilling Company.
CLIENTS: The firm advises an impressive stable of banking clients including Wells Fargo Bank, BNP Paribas, Fortis Bank, Natixis, Citigroup, Union Bank of California, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.
INDIVIDUALS: Houston-based managing partner, Mark Evans ‘is one of the most commercial lawyers in the energy finance business and one of the best client managers’, according to clients.
Houston-based Catherine Ozdogan, Dewey Gonsoulin and Alan Rafte ‘are some of the smartest legal minds that I have come across in 25 years of banking’, exclaimed one client. ‘They not only know the law, but also know how to work with other attorneys to get deals done’.
PRACTICE: A reassuring presence to both corporates and lenders located in the southeast region, Texas-based firm Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. has extensive experience handling syndicated senior loans, bridge loans, mezzanine, second-lien and subordinated financings.
Best known for its lender-side prowess, the team receives a steady flow of significant syndicated loan mandates in national and regional transactions, predominantly in the middle market. For example, it recently represented a national bank on a $350m secured multi-year revolving credit facility to a vending machine provider.
Aided by a significant presence in Mexico City, the firm’s dedicated Latin American practice group regularly handles significant financing transactions.
CLIENTS: Clients include Bank of America, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Texas Capital Bank and Mizuho Corporate Bank.
INDIVIDUALS: Based in Houston, Joseph Vilardo has a superb reputation for energy-related financings on behalf of lenders and corporates.
PRACTICE: Following its merger with Helms Mullis & Wicker, Virginia-based McGuireWoods LLP now has a highly credible banking and finance presence in North Carolina. Active across a variety of lending activities, the firm is particularly accomplished advising lead arrangers in the syndicated loan market, both in relation to acquisition finance and commercial lending purposes. Recent highlights include advising Bank of America on two syndicated transactions used to finance Republic Services’ $4.5bn acquisition of Allied Waste Industries.
Utilizing its significant national presence, the firm also regularly employs a multi-office approach to transactions, as evidenced by its recent representation of a financial institution on a $350m senior syndicated credit facility provided to Bosie-Cascade and its subsidiaries. Led from Los Angeles, the mandate also included input from Charlotte and Chicago.
CLIENTS: Instructed by both national and regional banks and corporates, clients include Bank of America and Dominion.
INDIVIDUALS: Co-chair of the firm’s capital markets department, Charlotte-based partner Robert Cramer has vast experience in complex syndicated lending transactions, often involving multi-currency facilities. He has recently been involved in multiple senior debt leveraged transactions in the consumer products and telecoms industries.
With over ten years of experience representing entities in corporate finance and real estate transactions, Charlotte-based partner Christian Brose is an essential part of the practice. Particularly active in the beverages industry, he has handled financings to more than 20 beer wholesalers in recent years.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
PRACTICE: Driven out of its Texas headquarters but by no means limited to deals indigenous to the region as a result of its national and international footprint, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP provides an ‘all-encompassing’ service to a significant pool of major banks, corporates and private equity sponsors.
Offering pragmatic and practical advice to clients across many industries, including healthcare, retail, telecommunications, the practice’s primary talent lies in its ability to resource significant energy transactions, often as counsel to lead arrangers in major syndicated credit facilities.
Regularly working in concert with the firm’s ‘high-quality’ restructuring group, the practice is able to provide extraordinary depth and experience assisting holders and issuers of distressed debt securities.
CLIENTS: Clients include Deutsche Bank, Wyndham International, AIG and Liberty Mutual.
INDIVIDUALS: Based in Austin, Alan Laves co-heads the debt finance practice. Instructed by both borrowers and lenders, Laves’ expertise extends to many industries, including healthcare, technology, retail and energy. He recently advised a leading international motion picture exhibitor on a $1.3bn secured credit facility to fund the acquisition of a competitor.
PRACTICE: Driven out of its Texas headquarters but also benefiting from a wider network that includes offices in New York and in major international centers such as Hong Kong, London and Munich, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP’s bank lending group is well-positioned to advise on national and cross-border financing transactions. Offering a service that ‘compares very favorably with New York outfits’, clients say it is ‘excellent on the highly structured transactions’, and are also appreciative of the attorneys’ ‘attention to detail and transactional analysis’.
In common with many of the practices in the region, its forte lies in its financing work within the oil and gas industry. In this area, the firm recently advised Delek Energy Systems in connection with its acquisition of Elk Resources and subsidiaries.
CLIENTS: Clients include JPMorgan Chase, Orix Finance, Bank of America, Carlyle Mezzanine Partners, Pioneer Drilling, YRC Worldwide and Delek Energy Systems.
INDIVIDUALS: Benefiting from a wealth of practical experience both in relation to acquisition financing and energy-related transactions, Dallas-based partner Gary Clark ‘has great deal skills and understanding of the market and the legal issues’, say clients.
PRACTICE: While it lacks the regional scope and the critical mass of many of the firms in our rankings, with a strong presence in Miami and Orlando, Akerman Senterfitt can justifiably lay claim to being one of the pre-eminent finance practices in the southeast. Active across a broad range of banking work, from traditional activities including real estate and corporate finance, to more specialized areas, such asset-based and health care, the practice provides a significant scope of expertise to both lenders and borrowers.
As the firm’s position as general counsel to the Florida Bankers Association demonstrates, Akerman Senterfitt occupies an elevated position in the region and is regularly instructed by local, as well as national banks.
The team recently represented Bank of America, as agent, and other participating banks in the renewal and modification of a $300m loan facility to a Florida homebuilder.
CLIENTS: Clients include a slew of local and national lenders, including American Bank, Bank of New York, Deutsche Bank, First Charter Bank, Great Florida Bank, SouthTrust Bank of Florida, SunTrust Bank, Union Planters Bank and Wells Fargo.
INDIVIDUALS: Based in the firm’s Orlando headquarters, Russell Hale has a strong reputation for banking and taxation transactions. As well as his continued involvement for the Florida Bankers Association in relation to tax and trust matters, he also handles work on behalf of corporates like Colorvision, who he recently represented in the renegotiation of an agreement with Universal Studios.