The firm's Global Finance Practice Group consists of approximately 60 attorneys, in addition to a number of attorneys in complementary practices. The group focuses on the representation of lenders, borrowers, underwriters and issuers in a large variety of debt and structured finance transactions, including leveraged loans, high yield bond offerings, mezzanine, project finance, equipment financings, restructurings and securitizations.  During the past two years, Gibson Dunn handled finance transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $177 billion. Also during this period, our attorneys handled leveraged loan facilities aggregating more than $61 billion, and helped clients raise over $10 billion in 24 high yield issues.

With a ratio of associates to partners that is lower than many of our law firm competitors, we pride ourselves on being able to devote significantly more high-level attention to our clients' matters than other major law firms.

Much of our work involves complicated customized financings, rather than rigidly standardized or formulaic work. The experience of the Global Finance Practice Group spans major industries, product groups and financial cycles, providing clients with the benefit of state-of-the-art learning within their industry, as well as the understanding and experience of other industries. As a result, our lawyers bring to their matters a level of expertise and breadth of experience that is uncommon at many of our competitors. 

Highlights of our Global Finance Practice include:

In 2007 Loan Pricing Corporation ranked Gibson Dunn in the United States:

• 4th -- Borrower by volume of deals
• 5th -- Borrower by number of deals
• 5th -- Borrower leveraged by number of deals
• 5th -- Borrower M&A by number of deals
• 6th -- Borrower leveraged by volume of deals
• 6th -- Borrower M&A by volume of deals

Members of the Global Finance Group have extensive experience in the following transactions, among others:

A. Secured and Unsecured Loans

• Corporate credits - secured and unsecured loans to corporations and other business entities for general corporate purposes.
• Leveraged loans - secured loans, including first and second lien structures, to finance acquisitions of companies or major assets, recapitalizations and other purposes involving highly leveraged or non-investment grade borrowers.
• Asset based credits - secured credit facilities where the credit extended is based not on the cash generation of the business generally, but rather on the liquidity of specific assets, such as accounts receivables and inventory.
• Backstop facilities - secured and unsecured credit facilities for investment grade companies which provide "backstop" liquidity or credit enhancement for their commercial paper facilities or other public debt obligations.

B. High Yield

• High yield - Registered public offerings and Rule 144A and Regulation S placements of high yield debt securities issued by non-investment grade issuers to mutual funds and other institutional investors, often to finance acquisition transactions.
• High yield bridge facilities - credit agreements that backstop high yield debt transactions, mostly to finance acquisitions.

C. Second Lien and Mezzanine Finance

• Second lien facilities - unsubordinated debt facilities secured by liens junior to liens securing credit facilities.
• Mezzanine debt - "true" private placements of subordinated debt, often coupled with warrants, ranging from traditional structures involving mostly insurance company investors to alternatives involving strategic or other financial investors, including "PIPES" transactions.

D. Public Debt

• Investment grade bonds - debt securities issued in the capital markets by major U.S. and foreign corporations.
• Convertible bonds - bonds convertible at the option of the holder into equity securities of the issuer.
• Medium term notes & commercial paper - issuance of short or medium term notes by investment grade issuers or asset backed vehicles.

E. Private Placements

• Traditional insurance company - placements of secured or unsecured notes to insurance companies and other institutional investors.
• Strategic investment - debt financings extended by major established companies in industry sectors (such as technology companies) to emerging or venture-stage companies.
• Financial investment - privately negotiated issuances of secured or unsecured notes to investment funds or other financial investors, often coupled with warrants or other equity features.

F. Structured Finance

• Asset backed securities - securitizations of financial assets other than mortgage loans - such as auto loans and credit card receivables.
• Mortgage backed securities - securitizations of mortgage loans, including single and pooled commercial mortgages.
• Receivables securitizations - sales of trade and other commercial receivables by originators.
• CLOs/CBOs/CDOs - securitizations of commercial loans ("CLOs"), high yield bonds ("CBOs") or combinations of those assets ("CDOs") through issuance of securities backed by the pooled cash flows or market values of these assets.
• Customized structures - for special corporate needs, such as financing of future delivery obligations to enable early progress payments.
• Derivatives - a wide variety of credit and equity derivative transactions, including total return swaps, credit default swaps and credit-linked notes.

G. Restructurings and Bankruptcy Finance

• Workouts and restructurings - non-bankruptcy workout and restructuring of senior credit facilities on behalf of issuers and creditors.
• Consent solicitations and exchange offers - solicitations of consents to amendments of high yield indentures and other debt instruments, and offers to exchange outstanding debt securities for different debt or equity securities, often as part of a broader restructuring of the issuer's balance sheet.
• Debtor-in-possession financings - DIP financings for companies in chapter 11 proceedings, whether on an independent basis or in connection with a pre-packaged plan or reorganization or other planned sale or acquisition of assets.

H. Project Finance

• Greenfield Projects - secured loans to newly-formed entities to finance the development, construction and operation of discrete revenue-generating assets (such as a power plant, pipeline, industrial facility, or toll road) or business segment (such as a telecommunications network, media provider, or water or power distribution network).
• Privatizations and acquisitions - secured loans to newly-formed entities, or limited-recourse loans to existing business operations, for the purpose of financing the acquisition and expansion of existing infrastructure facilities or networks, or discrete business segments of a formerly integrated business operation.
• Emerging markets - cross-border lending transactions in emerging markets, frequently involving the use of international risk-mitigation products (such as political risk insurance, co-lending under A/B structures, and other credit support from private and public agencies).

I. Equipment Finance

• Leveraged leasing - complex lease financings and sale-leasebacks for large capital assets, such as aircraft, power plants and industrial facilities.
• Operating and capital lease financing - lease financing intended to achieve sales, or non-sales, treatment in connection with non-fixed assets, such as in the case of computer and technology equipment.
• Synthetic leasing - structured lease transactions intended to legitimately allocate tax and accounting treatments arising from leases of capital assets.
• Islamic financing - leases and asset sales transactions structured to comply with Islamic law.