Annual Review 2009 - Watson, Farley & Williams

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06 FINANCE & INVESTMENT Finance & investment The difficult economic climate made 2009 an extremely challenging year for the finance and investment sector. Raising money has rarely been harder. Leveraged M&A work dropped significantly, although we were kept busy with a number of mid-market deals. US$586.3 million Loan facility supported by major French banks and backed by Coface MORE DEALS... > Advised Singapore-based investment funds on triple portfolio restructuring. > Advised arrangers DVB Bank America N.V. in relation to a financing for Deutsche Capital Management AG Group and Dong Fang International Investment Ltd. > Advised Metals Exploration plc on an £8 million debt facility. > Advised Riverside Europe Partners on the sale of its participation in AIS, a world-leading provider of IT solutions for the steel industry. > Advised Inventages Venture Capital on its £4 million/49.99% equity investment in Tanfield Food Company Ltd. A credit squeeze on the banking sector put severe constraints on investment activity that was relying on debt finance. However we did complete some substantial renewable energy deals that had other incentives to support them. Equity-based investment was slow in the first part of the year, partly due to a shortage of finance but also because available assets were unattractively priced. Some existing investments that had run into difficulty generated M&A activity as assets were sold and businesses consolidated. This also provided insolvency and restructuring work. Nevertheless, some people raised equity on the capital markets successfully and there is scope for optimism in 2010. PIVOTAL LOAN FACILITy FOR SATELLITE LEADER Globalstar is a NASDAQ-listed leader in mobile satellite voice and data services, with over 350,000 subscribers in more than 120 countries. In a crucial milestone for the company, it plans to launch a second-generation satellite network beginning in the summer of 2010. For many years WFW Paris has advised the client on regulatory aspects of its ICT work in France. Now in need of financing for the manufacture, delivery and launch of the new network, as well as related ground facilities, Globalstar turned to WFW once again. Both construction and launch services are being carried out by French companies – Thales Alenia Space and Arianespace respectively. The significant loan facility of US$586.3 million was supported by most of the major French banks and backed by Coface, the French export credit agency. WFW Paris led on this highly complex deal – which involved a combination of export credit and project financing under English, French and New york law, as well as security in several jurisdictions including various US states, Brazil, the Netherlands, the Cayman Islands and Singapore. The challenge was to meet the requirements of the banks and Coface, while still allowing the client to run and grow its business. We also worked closely with TAFT – Globalstar’s US counsel – in connection with additional equity issuance and US securities law issues. Our expertise in cross-border asset financing and export credit lending helped us to deliver a successful deal to tight deadlines and in a difficult market.
RIVERSIDE/KAUL The Riverside Company is the world’s largest private equity buyout fi rm investing in small and medium-sized companies with a strong market position and further growth potential. A long-standing client of our Munich team, it turned to us for full legal support on the acquisition of Kaul, the Germany-based global leader in confectionery glazing and polishing. WFW Munich worked with Hamburg and London, the latter providing corporate advice in relation to Kaul’s sister company Capol UK. CONSTRUCTION CLAIMS FINANCING Todini Costruzioni Generali is one of Italy’s top construction fi rms, renowned for large infrastructure projects including a recent alternative motorway route through the challenging Apennines. WFW Rome advised the country’s leading banking group and an established client, Intesa Sanpaolo, on a syndicated loan facility of Z50 million to fi nance Todini’s building works claims. Our understanding and experience of this rare and complex form of fi nancing helped us to complete the transaction swiftly. HAMBURG TRUST/ECE WFW Hamburg advised Hamburg Trust Grundvermögen und Anlage GmbH on the acquisition of a 40% stake in a project development company for the construction and operation of a shopping centre in Dortmund. One of Europe’s largest privately-funded projects started during the fi nancial crisis, the 150-store mall will be part of the ECE chain and involves an overall investment of Z300 million. Hamburg Trust – specialist in real estate funds for private and institutional investors – has been a client since its foundation in 2006. FINANCE & INVESTMENT 07 Watson, Farley & Williams Annual Review 2009
Page 1 and 2: Annual Review 2009
Page 3 and 4: Our strategic goals To be a top-qua
Page 5 and 6: Leading finance and renewable energ
Page 7: Revenue up 25% £52m £58m £73m 20
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Page 15 and 16: KFW IPEX/STENA Shipbuilding at Wada
Page 17 and 18: COLLECTIVE REDUNDANCy ADVICE WFW ad
Page 19 and 20: AUGUST 2009 The Bangkok team is ran
Page 21 and 22: 97% of staff who participated in th
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Annual Review 2009 - Watson, Farley & Williams

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