Recent Transactions

Advised the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Conseco, Inc., a life insurance and annuities company, on the financial restructuring of the Company’s $6 billion of externally held financial indebtedness

Provided financial advisory services and a fairness opinion to Archipelago Holdings, Inc. in its definitive merger agreement with the NYSE to create the NYSE Group, Inc

Acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Refco Inc. in connection with its Chapter 11 proceedings which included the sale of substantially all of the assets of Refco's regulated commodities futures business to Man Financial for $1.2 billion

Advised the Transaction Committee of the Board of Directors of SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae, on the sale to a consortium consisting of J.C. Flowers, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase

Advised the special committee of the board of directors in connection with its merger with Triarc Companies, Inc., the operator of the Arby’s franchise. The combined systems will have approximately 10,000 restaurant units and pro forma annual system sales of approximately $12.5 billion, positioning it as the nation’s third largest quick service restaurant company

Advised the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Barnes & Noble, Inc., the world’s largest bookseller, on its acquisition of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc.

Advised the Affiliated Transaction Committee of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. on the sale of its North American bottling operations to The Coca-Cola Company and on its concurrent acquisition of The Coca-Cola Company’s bottling operations in the Nordic region

Advised GPG plc, a listed investment company, on potential restructuring alternatives

Advised the Independent Director Committee of Alcon, Inc., an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, on the sale of Alcon’s outstanding publicly held interest to Novartis AG, a global pharmaceutical company

Advised Findel plc, a UK listed multi-channel retailer, on the restructuring of its balance sheet comprising an equity capital raising and refinancing of its debt and pension obligations

Advised Bionomics Ltd, in relation to the tender process run by Bionomics’ largest shareholder, Start-up Australia Ventures (“Start-up”), for its 28% stake in the company, follow on sell-down of Start-up’s stake to 8% and associated capital raising by Bionomics

Advised American Dental Partners, Inc. (NASD: ADPI), one of the nation’s leading business partners to dental group practices, on its sale to JLL Partners, a leading private equity firm

Advised the Pension Trustees of Howden Joinery Group plc in negotiating a revised schedule of deficit reduction payments, and with regards to their security position relative to the Company’s lenders

Advised the Special Committee of the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of Athene Holding Ltd. in connection with the purchase of non-cash investment assets of AP Alternative Assets L.P.

Advised Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX:SUN), a leading general insurance, retail banking and life insurance group in Australia and New Zealand, on the sale of a A$1.6bn portfolio of performing and non-performing (corporate and property) loans to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., an American multinational investment banking firm

Advised the Independent Committee of the Board of Directors of ING US, Inc. in connection with ING U.S., Inc’s repurchase of 7.2mm shares (aggregate repurchase of $250mm) from ING Groep N.V.

Advised the Independent Committee of the Board of Directors of Voya Financial, Inc. in connection with Voya Financial, Inc.’s repurchase of 4.5mm shares (aggregate repurchase of $175mm) from ING Groep N.V.

Advised AA plc, the UK’s leading roadside assistance provider, on the refinancing of its high yield bond and PIK instrument

Advised Airopack Technology Group, developer of a revolutionary all-plastic dispenser, on a €120 million debt and equity investment from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, and the concurrently announced proposed acquisition of the 50% stake it does not already own in Airolux AG, its joint venture with Resilux NV

Advised Fairway Group Holdings Corp., a grocery store chain operating fifteen stores in the New York metropolitan area, in connection with its pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan

Advised the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Concordia International, a diverse, international specialty pharmaceutical company focused on generic and legacy pharmaceutical products and orphan drugs, on its strategic review process

Advised an Ad Hoc Group of Cross-over Debtholders on Concordia International’s cross-border Canadian restructuring and recapitalization, including a US$586.5mm common equity private placement, the equitization of ~US$1.7bn of unsecured debt and the partial paydown and exchange of ~US$2.2bn of secured debt

Advised Blue Sky, an ASX-listed diversified alternative assets manager, on its response to an activist short-seller campaign, strategic review of recapitalisation options, and receipt of a A$50mm long-term capital investment by Oaktree via a 7-year senior secured convertible loan note facility

Advised ASX-listed AUB Group, a leading insurance intermediary business operating a network of over 100 insurance brokers and underwriting agencies across Australia and New Zealand, on its fully underwritten entitlement offer to raise A$116mm

Advised the Special Committee of Aritzia, an innovative designer and retailer of fashion brands, on the secondary offering and concurrent repurchase of shares held by Berkshire Partners

Advised David’s Bridal, a leading bridal gown and special occasion dress retailer, on its out-of-court recapitalization

Advised WH Smith PLC, one of the UK’s leading retailers, on its £166m non pre-emptive equity placing and new £120mm financing facility

Advised Sir Roger De Haan on his cornerstone investment of £100mm in Saga, the UK provider of products and services exclusively for the over 50s, as part of its £150m equity raise

Advised Ad Hoc Group of First Lien Term Loan Lenders on Akorn’s in-court recapitalization

Advised the Committee of Unsecured Creditors on the in-court restructuring of Libbey, Inc., a leading tableware manufacturer

Advised Greencore Group plc, a leading UK manufacturer of convenience foods based in Ireland, on its £90mm non pre-emptive equity placing

Advising US Acute Care Solutions, the largest majority physician-owned emergency medicine practice in the United States, on its recapitalization and buyout of minority partner, Welsh Carson

Advised the Ad Hoc Group of First-Lien Term Loan lenders of Ascena Retail Group, Inc. with respect to (i) negotiation of a restructuring support agreement, including a fully backstopped DIP and exit financing and (ii) a sale of Ann Taylor, LOFT and Lane Bryant as well as the intellectual property assets of the Justice and Catherine’s brands.

Advised the Company on its chapter 11 proceedings and $801mm sale through a § 363 process

Advising Tate & Lyle PLC, a leading UK-based global provider of food and beverage ingredients and solutions, on its sale of a controlling stake in its Primary Products business in North America and Latin America

Advising the management and majority physician owners of GI Alliance, the largest gastroenterology practice in the United States, on its recapitalization and buyout of minority partner, Waud Capital

Advised Pixelligent Technologies, a leading manufacturer of nanocrystal material used in consumer electronic devices, on its growth capital raise

Advising Marley Spoon SE, an ASX listed global subscription-based meal kit provider, on its business combination agreement with 468 SPAC II, simultaneous capital raising and amendment to existing debt facilities

Advised Juice Plus+, a global health and wellness company in the direct selling space on a comprehensive recapitalization transaction