Michael Black > Norton Rose Fulbright > London, England > Lawyer Profile

‘Well plugged in to the market and to current norms’, Norton Rose Fulbright provides ‘commercial and efficient’ advice to an increasingly balanced mix of corporates, funds and lenders on often challenging and highly bespoke acquisition finance mandates. A considerable amount of this work takes place within emerging markets, where the firm has a strong track record advising on energy-related acquisition finance deals, including within Africa. The ‘intelligent’ James Dunnett has niche expertise in supporting financial advisers with cash confirmations for the acquisition of publicly listed companies pursuant to the Takeover Code. As part of his wide-ranging finance offering, Michael Black, who co-heads the department with EMEA banking head Madhavi Gosavi, regularly advises US lenders on matters where the ABL product forms part of the overall financing package to facilitate an M&A transaction.

Leveraging extensive resources across its global network, Norton Rose Fulbright is particularly well-positioned to advise lenders on large cross-border ABL financings. Key to the firm’s success in the area is the work of ‘incredibly creative’ team head Michael Black, who has cultivated robust and long-lasting relationships with heavyweight US lenders, regularly acting for them on complex transatlantic deals where the ABL product sits alongside conventional bank lending and/or debt capital markets products. Notably, the firm has also picked up a growing number of borrower instructions as well as work for alternative capital providers. Alex Dunn and Helen Masri are also recommended.

Led from London by Madhavi Gosavi and able to wield vast international resources, Norton Rose Fulbright can provide ‘responsive and commercially oriented’ advice to an increasingly balanced mix of banks and borrower clients. The ‘outstanding’ Neha Khosla regularly advises clients in the oil and gas space, both in a conventional debt finance capacity as well as with regard to reserve-based lending facilities. Along with Alex Zekkos and Michael Ings, Khosla is also regularly engaged in emerging markets work and in structuring transactions which use commercial and export credit-backed facilities. Davide Barzilai‘s versatile lending practice ensures that he is ‘very well placed to deal with projects covering different types of banking products in multiple jurisdictions’. Michael Black excels in advising banks on secured corporate lending facilities and is noted for his expertise at structuring cross-border deals utilising the ABL product.