Gibson Dunn represented the initial purchasers led by BofA Securities, Inc., BMO Capital Markets Corp., Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, as joint book-running managers in a private offering by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (the “Company”) of $750 million senior notes. The notes offered consisted of (i) $600 million aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 6.100% Senior Notes due 2055 and (ii) an additional $150 million aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 6.000% Senior Notes due 2033 (the “2033 Notes”). The 2033 Notes constitute a further issuance of the same series of the Company’s previously issued and outstanding $600 million 6.000% Senior Notes due 2033, issued on December 7, 2023 and January 12, 2024. Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and the associated investment management. Fairfax intends to use the net proceeds of this offering to redeem all of the outstanding $500 million Senior Notes due 2025 of Allied World Assurance Company Holdings I, Ltd, its subsidiary and will use any remaining amount for general corporate purposes. The offering closed on June 24, 2024.
The Gibson Dunn team was led by Andrew Fabens, Rodrigo Surcan, Nneka Chukwumah and Ian Mwiti Mathenge. Lorna Wilson and Jennifer L. Sabin provided assistance on tax matters.
Gibson Dunn was recognized in the 2024 edition of the Chambers Litigation Support guide. The firm was ranked in the Global-wide: Asset Tracing & Recovery category. Partner Robert Weigel was also recognized for his work in Asset Tracing & Recovery. The guide was published on June 25, 2024.
Gibson Dunn is the leader in global judgment and arbitral award enforcement. We provide innovative enforcement strategies and creative solutions for both creditors and debtors. Our Judgment and Arbitral Award Enforcement Practice Group offers top-tier international arbitral award and judgment enforcement strategies and solutions, deep proficiency in cross-border litigation and international arbitration, and best-in-class advocacy that not only applies the law, but, time and again, has crafted and shaped new law to achieve our clients’ objectives.
Gibson Dunn is pleased to announce the appointment of George J. Sampas as Co-Chair of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group and Head of Cross-Border M&A. He will lead the global M&A practice with fellow Co-Chairs Robert Little in the Dallas office and Saee Muzumdar in the New York office.
“George is a preeminent M&A lawyer, and his extensive experience in cross-border deals is invaluable in an increasingly global world,” said Barbara Becker, Chair and Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. “As a trusted advisor for boardrooms across the globe, George brings a unique perspective and ability to advise our clients through a diverse range of deal structures and cycles. His addition to our leadership is a reflection of the firm’s commitment to growing our M&A platform across the globe.”
“I am thrilled to work with my Co-Chairs and colleagues at the firm to scale our exceptional M&A practice. Gibson Dunn’s global presence and the caliber of talent across the firm enable us to provide a tailored approach in our client offerings,” said George. George focuses on cross-border transactions, unsolicited U.S. and non-U.S. acquisitions and private equity transactions. He is consistently recognized as a leading adviser to companies on their most high-profile and strategically significant matters. His work spans a broad range of industries, including energy, aviation, food and beverage, and technology.
About the Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group
Gibson Dunn’s M&A Practice Group is an international leader in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, proxy contests and joint ventures. The firm’s M&A capabilities are worldwide, as its combination of lawyers throughout the network of 21 offices in all major financial centers allows it to handle the most complex cross-border deals effectively and efficiently.
Industry rankings regularly recognize Gibson Dunn as one of the world’s top M&A firms. Chambers USA, which consistently lists Gibson Dunn as among “The Elite” nationwide for corporate/M&A, has noted that the firm “is frequently enlisted on some of the most significant transactions in the market.” The firm’s M&A clients include public and private companies, ranging from Fortune 100 and multinational corporations to smaller companies, private equity firms, boards of directors and special committees, selling shareholders, management teams, and financial advisors. Clients also regularly enlist Gibson Dunn to provide advice regarding takeover preparedness and the implementation of defensive measures. The firm’s Hostile M&A and Shareholder Activism practices are some of the most well-respected in the world.
Gibson Dunn is pleased to announce that Brian Scrivani has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner and a member of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups.
“Brian is a leading private equity partner who has worked with premier PE sponsors and their portfolio companies across all industries and verticals on some of their most complex and significant investments,” said Richard Birns, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Private Equity Practice Group. “His addition further solidifies our standing as a destination PE practice.”
“I am excited to join Gibson Dunn, and I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the firm’s extensive, market-leading platform,” said Brian. “The talent here is remarkable, and the firm’s investment in the M&A and private equity space, as well as the practices that are critical to the future of the addressable market, allows us to provide unparalleled support to clients on their most important transactions.”
Brian’s addition reflects Gibson Dunn’s commitment to growing its M&A and private equity groups globally. Over the past year alone, the firm has added over two dozen transactional lateral partner hires, including high-profile M&A partner George Sampas, and elevated over a dozen transactional partners worldwide.
About Brian Scrivani
Brian advises private equity firms and public and private clients on leveraged buyouts and other private equity transactions, public company acquisitions, sales and divestitures and mergers of equals. He also advises boards of directors and special committees on corporate and securities laws, and fiduciary and corporate governance matters, including unsolicited offers, proxy contests and other activist defense matters.
Brian previously was a partner at another leading international law firm. He graduated with honors in 2007 from The University of Texas School of Law, where he served as Chief Articles Editor for the Texas Law Review.
Gibson Dunn is pleased to announce that Victoria “Tory” Lauterbach has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner and a member of the Energy, Regulation and Litigation Practice Group.
“We are excited to welcome Tory to the firm,” said Bill Hollaway, Chair of the firm’s Energy, Regulation and Litigation Practice Group. “She has a rare, broad-based energy practice that covers all the bases, from regulatory transactional work to FERC litigation, appellate work, and regulatory proceedings. Her addition will complement our existing team and position us for further growth.”
“Gibson Dunn has an impressive energy platform with other industry-leading practice areas that will support my practice,” said Tory. “I am looking forward to leveraging my relationships with the firm’s wide network.”
Tory’s arrival follows recent substantial growth for Gibson Dunn’s energy practices, which span offices in Asia, London, the Middle East, Paris, and United States. The firm has invested in these practices with the opening of an office in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh and the addition of partners Federico Fruhbeck, Alice Brogi, Trinh Chubbock, Robert Dixon and Ben Shorten in London; Darko Adamovic in Paris; Marwan Elaraby, Renad Younes, Laleh Shahabi, Jade Chu, and Samuel Ogunlaja in Dubai; and Megren Al-Shaalan, Mahmoud Abdel-Baky, Mohamed Hasan, Jonathan Langley, and Ibrahim Soumrany in Riyadh; and Rahul Vashi in Houston.
Gibson Dunn was named among Law360’s Energy Practice Groups of the Year in the last two years, and the firm’s energy practices are regularly ranked in Chambers USA and The Legal 500 United States.
About Victoria Lauterbach
Tory represents energy sector clients, including investors, generation developers, independent power producers, independent transmission companies, investor-owned utilities, natural gas companies, and pipeline shippers in a variety of regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters. She has significant experience in administrative litigation and settlement proceedings. She regularly represents companies before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and federal appellate courts and has represented clients before the Department of Energy (DOE) and state public utility commissions.
She helps clients navigate heavily regulated energy industry market environments, including wholesale electricity and carbon markets. Tory advises companies on issues relating to the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Natural Gas Act (NGA), the Interstate Commerce Act, related federal and state statutes, and federally regulated tariffs. She is Co-Chair of the Professional Education Council of the Energy Bar Association.
Tory graduated with honors from The University of Texas School of Law, where she served as Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that partner Daniel Abercromby today joins the firm’s Hong Kong office as a member of its Global Finance Practice Group.
Commenting on the arrival, Doug Horowitz, Co-Chair of the Global Finance Practice Group, said: “Our group is expanding to meet the needs of clients internationally. Dan is a great addition to our Global Finance team and will work closely with colleagues world-wide. He brings a wealth of experience across a range of private capital financings in Asia—from private equity and digital infrastructure to private credit and special situations financings—serving as an important compliment to Jamie Thomas and his team in Singapore and David Irvine and the rest of our team in Europe and the Middle East.”
“It is exciting to be joining such a strong and growing platform at a time when we are seeing a marked increase in private capital financings across Asia. Being able to operate seamlessly with market leading finance teams in Europe and the United States gives us a real advantage, as investors take an increasingly global approach to financing Asia assets,” said Daniel.
The hire follows a period of targeted expansion in Gibson Dunn’s Global Finance Practice Group, with recent arrivals including partners David Irvine and Kavita Davis in London. Irvine recently joined with years of experience in both Hong Kong and London, creating an even stronger bridge for clients engaging in English law-based financing transactions across Europe and Asia. Davis, who joined in September last year, focuses on cross-border debt finance matters and has significant experience in advising on leveraged buyouts representing sponsors, including sponsors focusing on infrastructure transactions.
About Daniel Abercromby
Daniel advises on a wide variety of financings across India, Southeast Asia, Greater China, Korea and Japan, and he has extensive experience in leveraged and acquisition financings, direct lending transactions, and special situations investments, including their refinancing and restructuring. His clients include private equity funds and their portfolio companies, as well as credit and other special situations funds.
Daniel is ranked as a leading lawyer for China Banking & Finance: Leveraged & Acquisition Finance in the Chambers Greater China Region 2024 guide, which notes that “he’s pragmatic and has his finger on the pulse of the market.” He is also listed as a notable practitioner for Leveraged Finance in Hong Kong in IFLR1000 and has been named a recommended lawyer for Banking & Finance in Hong Kong in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024 guide, which described him as a “seasoned lawyer applauded for the breadth of his high-profile financing experience.”
He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons) from The University of Auckland, New Zealand. Daniel is admitted to practice in England & Wales and New Zealand.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP advised Related Argent on its joint venture with NTT UD Europe Limited, a subsidiary of leading Japanese telecommunications group Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, to take forward the third Build-to-Rent development at Brent Cross Town.
The development will comprise 226 rental homes across three blocks in a prime location between Claremont Park and the new high street to form part of the £8 billion mixed-use park town. This third development will bring the rental portfolio at Brent Cross Town to around 760 homes, all managed by Related Argent.
The Gibson Dunn team was led by partner Patrick Hennessy and included partner Jeremy Kenley and associates Ciarán Deeny and Emily Mattley (Corporate and Real Estate).
The team was supported by partner Sandy Bhogal and associates Sophie Walshe and James Chandler (Tax), as well as partner Attila Borsos and associate Alana Tinkler (Antitrust and Competition).
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Claude Jiang has joined its Projects and Infrastructure Practice Group as an of counsel in the Singapore office.
Commenting on his arrival, Elaine Chao, Partner in Charge of the Singapore office, said: “We are delighted to welcome Claude to Gibson Dunn. His extensive project development and finance experience makes him an excellent addition to the team.”
Ben Shorten, partner and member of the firm’s Projects and Infrastructure Practice Group, added: “We have been growing our EMEA projects and infrastructure team, and Claude is a great fit, bringing extensive experience in energy and infrastructure projects across Asia and the Middle East. On a personal note, having previously worked with Claude, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him again.”
About Claude Jiang
Claude has over 17 years of energy and infrastructure related project development and finance experience across Asia and the Middle East. He has extensive experience working on both the project side and the financing side of transactions and has been involved in a variety of transactions from different project aspects including traditional project financing, structuring for projects without a financing component, project-related M&A as well as project-based bond offerings. Recently, he has concentrated on energy transition/renewables and assorted infrastructure projects while leading cross-border and cross-practice teams on several large-scale transactions.
Claude is admitted to practice in the State of New York and is qualified to practice in China.
About Gibson Dunn’s Projects and Infrastructure and Energy Practice Groups
Gibson Dunn’s Projects and Infrastructure Practice Group has in-depth knowledge and experience ranging from green field project development, major disposals, and acquisitions across energy and infrastructure and complex asset restructurings. The group advises all stakeholders from governments and corporate and financial sponsors, through to lenders and other credit providers.
The Energy Practice Group has a wide array of experience across all parts of the sector—from traditional sources of energy such as oil and gas, and electric utilities, to renewable forms such as solar and wind. The firm has handled energy-related matters involving numerous practice areas, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; debt and project finance; capital markets; joint ventures; fund formation; dispute resolution; commercial arrangements; and all manner of energy-related regulatory and antitrust issues.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Caith Kushner has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner and a member of the firm’s Liability Management and Special Situations Practice in the Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group.
“We are excited to welcome Caith to the firm,” said Scott Greenberg, Global Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group. “Our market-leading Restructuring and Liability Management and Special Situations teams are extremely busy, and Caith’s experience and in-depth finance analytical skills will be invaluable to our clients in a highly active distressed finance environment,” added Steven Domanowski, Chair of the firm’s Liability Management and Special Situations Practice.
“I am very pleased to join Gibson Dunn, and I look forwarding to working with the firm’s premier team to structure finance solutions to address our clients’ most critical matters in this challenging credit market,” said Caith.
Gibson Dunn’s Liability Management and Special Situations Practice is part of the firm’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group. The practice is a pioneer in liability management focused on devising and executing tailored solutions for ad hoc groups of debt holders and other debt investors, including asset managers, hedge funds, and credit opportunity funds. Led by Steven Domanowski, our industry-leading team works to understand the nuances and challenges of each transaction, delivering novel structures that can only be developed based on our years of experience in the field. The lawyers in this practice are at the forefront of every market-leading and altering transaction and are leaders in creating and implementing the needs of our clients in a growing and fast-paced market. Our group effectively tackles the complex and unique needs of each client by drawing on the incomparable expertise in Gibson Dunn’s finance, capital markets, M&A, litigation, and tax practices.
Caith’s arrival continues the expansion of Gibson Dunn’s premier restructuring practice, including the recent additions of finance partner Chad Nichols, restructuring partner Joseph Zujkowski, and bankruptcy litigator Lee Wilson.
About Caith Kushner
Caith’s practice focuses on liability management and distressed financing transactions, including out-of-court debt exchanges and other restructurings, DIP financings and exit financings, as well as direct lending transactions. He also has experience in a wide range of leveraged finance and investment grade transactions, representing both private equity clients and public companies. In 2024, Caith was listed in Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Dealmakers in America.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Caith served as a partner for a New York law firm. He received his law degree in 2005 from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a James Kent Scholar.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Ro Spaziani has joined the firm’s New York office, where she will serve as a partner and a member of the firm’s Financial Institutions, Global Financial Regulatory, and Global Fintech and Digital Assets Practice Groups.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ro to the Gibson Dunn team,” said Stephanie Brooker, Co-Chair of the firm’s Financial Institutions Practice Group. “Ro has a unique blend of traditional bank regulatory experience coupled with years of helping banks develop and expand financial technology businesses. This combination, as part of our financial services offerings, will be invaluable to clients.”
“I am excited to begin the next chapter of my career at Gibson Dunn,” said Ro. “The continuing evolution of financial services and the expansion of industry participants have increased regulatory scrutiny, complexity, and ambiguity across the market. I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues across the firm in helping clients navigate these broad challenges.”
Ro’s addition highlights a period of growth for Gibson Dunn’s financial regulatory platform. Last year, partners Jason Cabral and Sara Weed who advise financial clients on a wide range of regulatory, transactional, policy, and enforcement matters joined the firm’s New York and Washington, D.C. offices, respectively. Additionally, one of the firm’s newer practice groups is the interdisciplinary Global Fintech and Digital Assets Practice Group, which advises traditional and emerging companies on a range of advisory, regulatory, policy, supervision and enforcement, transactional, and litigation matters involving fintech, digital assets, and blockchain technology.
About Rosemary Spaziani
Ro’s practice focuses on representing financial institutions in a broad range of corporate and regulatory matters, including in connection with mergers and acquisitions, strategic initiatives, partnerships, enforcement actions, compliance, and corporate governance matters. She has substantial experience with a wide array of bank regulatory issues, including payments; global structuring of complex financial institutions to maximize functionality, funding, and flexibility; risk management; and other key areas of regulatory focus. She regularly advises clients before the federal financial services regulatory agencies and state banking departments on a variety of matters, including regulatory applications and notices, chartering issues, and enforcement matters.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Ro served as an of counsel for a New York law firm. Previously, she was a managing director in the legal department at Goldman Sachs, where she spent over a decade and served as the head of the bank regulatory, deposits, and payments legal practice groups. In this role, she managed numerous strategic acquisitions and firm initiatives, including the acquisition of the retail deposit platform and the development and launch of the global transaction banking business.
Ro received her law degree from Columbia Law School in 2006.
Lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in response to Louisiana District Attorney’s Office’s unconstitutional incarceration of innocent witness for more than six months in flagrant disregard of her constitutional rights.
Lafayette, La. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, LLC announce the filing of a civil rights action on behalf of Tayjha Alfred against Martin Bofill (“Bo”) Duhé, the District Attorney for the 16th Judicial District of Louisiana, and Assistant District Attorney Alister Charrier to seek damages and injunctive relief for the severe pain and suffering she has endured, as well as to ensure that Duhé and Charrier do not continue abusing the criminal justice system to imprison other innocent people like Ms. Alfred in the future.
For more than six months in 2023, Ms. Alfred languished in the Iberia Parish Jail in the State of Louisiana. Ms. Alfred had not been charged with committing any crime, nor was she a suspect. Instead, Ms. Alfred’s only connection to the crime that would keep her jailed for six months was that she happened to be in the vicinity of the area that later became the scene of a murder. Ms. Alfred cooperated with the investigation of the crime—in fact, she voluntarily spoke to police multiple times. She had not witnessed the crime, but she was willing to testify at trial, if needed. The prosecutors knew where to find her: she was working out of state as a traveling nurse during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
But instead of just subpoenaing Ms. Alfred as a witness, the Defendants in this lawsuit jailed her under Louisiana’s material-witness statute, which permits a witness in a criminal case to be jailed if her testimony is “essential to the prosecution or the defense” and when the prosecution shows “that it may become impracticable to secure the presence of the person by subpoena.” La. Rev. Stat. § 15:257.
Once Ms. Alfred was incarcerated, she was never appointed counsel, as every accused criminal defendant receives upon arrest, nor was she provided with an appearance bond, as the statute requires.
The United States and Louisiana Constitutions and basic principles of human decency mandate that an innocent person should not be incarcerated unless it is necessary to secure her appearance at trial, and never for an indefinite or prolonged period of time without bond or appointed counsel. Duhé and Charrier violated that mandate when they put Ms. Alfred, a witness who was willing to testify voluntarily, in jail for more than six months unnecessarily. Unfortunately, Ms. Alfred’s story is not unique—what happened to her represents one instance from a significant pattern and practice in Mr. Duhé’s office of unconstitutionally incarcerating material witnesses in violation of their constitutional rights.
Katherine Marquart, partner and chair of Gibson Dunn’s pro bono program, stated: “Gibson Dunn is committed to standing up for equal justice under the law, and today we stand beside Tayjha Alfred in demanding accountability for the constitutional violations she suffered at the hands of the prosecutors who capriciously and cruelly stole six months of her life. Ms. Alfred is a bright, determined, and kind woman who had her liberty ripped away from her after simply being near the scene of a crime before a crime occurred. Never a suspect and always cooperative, she nevertheless endured what can only be described as a dystopian nightmare of unnecessary, unconstitutional, and life altering incarceration. As a result, she lost her job and the opportunity to continue to advance her nursing career, support her family, and build her own life. We are proud to represent Ms. Alfred, and to work to help ensure that nothing like this happens to anyone else.”
Chloé Chetta of Barrasso Usdin also said: “It is an honor to represent Tayjha Alfred. She is a kind and compelling young woman who was working to improve her education and career while providing for her family when she was wrongly incarcerated. I’m proud of Tayjha for standing up for herself and others who get swept into our criminal justice system without the knowledge or resources to fight unfairness. As someone born and raised in Louisiana, and forever committed to showing others what a great place Louisiana is to live, work, and play, it hurts to know that folks like Tayjha often suffer unfairness and mistreatment at the hands of public officials. I look forward to working with the Gibson Dunn team to right these wrongs and am grateful for their partnership on this case.”
The Amended Complaint is available here: Tayjha Alfred v. Martin Bofill (“Bo”) Duhé, in his individual capacity and in his official capacity as the 16th Judicial District Attorney; and Alister Charrier, in her individual capacity.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP advised I Squared Capital, a leading independent global infrastructure investment manager, on the spin-off of the Canadian business of its European truck and trailer leasing company, TIP Group, to its US-based trailer lessor Transportation Equipment Network, formerly known as Star Leasing.
The Gibson Dunn corporate team was led by New York partner Marwan Azzi and included New York of counsel Robert Banerjea and New York associate Nicole Tedesco. New York partner Kathryn Kelly and London partner Sandy Bhogal advised on tax aspects.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP has appointed Mark Leverkus as Of Counsel in its Global Finance and Transportation and Space Practice Groups in London.
Mark is recognised by The Legal 500 Rankings in Finance: Transport Finance and Leasing, and has been named a “Rising Star” by Airfinance Journal. He was previously a senior associate in the transportation and space group of Milbank, and he has also been seconded to the legal department of a major UK bank, and to a regional aircraft lessor in Dublin.
Madalyn Miller, Co-chair of the Transportation and Space Group and Partner in the Global Finance Group at Gibson Dunn, said: “Mark’s experience on some of the largest and most complex aviation and space matters make him a great addition to the team and we’re pleased to welcome him to the firm. We are continuing to expand our Global Finance and Transportation and Space Groups and the London office is particularly important as we grow.”
Mark’s hire follows a period of growth for the firm’s Global Finance Practice Group, with other recent arrivals including partners David Irvine, Trinh Chubbock, Kavita Davis and Ben Shorten in London, Jin Hee Kim and Doug Horowitz in New York, Chad Nichols in Houston/New York, Frederick Lee in Dallas, and Darko Adamovic in Paris.
About Mark Leverkus
Mark is an Of Counsel in the London office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and is a member of the firm’s Transportation and Space and Global Finance practice groups. His deals have won numerous awards from transport industry publications and ratings services, and include acting for financiers, arrangers, equity investors, leasing companies, export credit agencies and operators on a range of sophisticated financing, leasing and sale and purchase transactions, involving aircraft, satellites and other moveable equipment. He also has extensive experience in the trading and repackaging of such transactions, as well as in restructurings, disputes, work-outs and repossessions.
About the Gibson Dunn Transportation and Space Practice Group
The Transportation and Space Practice Group serves some of the largest aerospace, defence and satellite companies in the world as well as cutting-edge emerging technology businesses, and the private equity and financial institutions that support and enable their growth. Our aerospace and related technologies lawyers have a wide cross-section market knowledge and offer a strong and longstanding track record serving the traditional aerospace industry and supporting clients in various new and emerging technologies and markets.
About the Gibson Dunn Global Finance Practice Group
The Global Finance Practice Group serves clients around the world, including private equity sponsors, corporate borrowers, major financial institutions, and hedge funds. It includes more than 85 lawyers in our offices worldwide, advising on a broad array of financing transactions. The group works closely with mergers and acquisitions colleagues on acquisition financings and with the firm’s capital markets team. The group also draws extensively on the knowledge and skills of other specialist practice areas, such as environmental, tax, employee benefits, and litigation.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that David Irvine has joined the firm’s Global Finance Practice Group as a partner in London. He will serve as Co-Chair of Global Finance (Europe).
David is widely recognized as one of the leading finance lawyers in the U.K. He is ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global 2024, Chambers UK 2024, The Legal 500 UK 2024, and IFLR1000, where clients describe him as a “trusted advisor” and “persuasive in the most difficult conversations.”
Commenting on his arrival, Doug Horowitz, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Global Finance Practice Group, said: “David is recognized as one of the best in the market for private equity sponsors and debt financing sources. He has worked on a range of significant U.K., European, Asian, and cross-border acquisition financing transactions—at Gibson Dunn, he will apply his considerable talents, working closely with our private equity, infrastructure, and restructuring teams.”
Penny Madden, Co-Partner in Charge of the London office, said: “We’re pleased to welcome David to the London office, where his incredible experience on high-profile financing transactions makes him an important addition to the team.”
David’s hire follows a period of growth for Gibson Dunn’s Global Finance Practice Group, with other recent arrivals including partners Trinh Chubbock, Kavita Davis, and Ben Shorten in London, Jin Hee Kim and Doug Horowitz in New York, Chad Nichols in Houston/New York, Frederick Lee in Dallas, and Darko Adamovic in Paris.
About David Irvine
David advises private equity sponsors and private credit funds in major cross-border leveraged and acquisition financing transactions. He also advises on recaps, minority back leverage, special situations financings, margin loans, fund-level financings, and restructurings.
David is widely recognized as a leading finance lawyer in the U.K. He is ranked as a leading lawyer in Chambers Global 2024 and Chambers UK 2024 for Banking & Finance: Big-Ticket; is a recommended lawyer in The Legal 500 UK 2024 for both London Acquisition Finance and London Bank Lending: Investment Grade Debt and Syndicated Loans; and is ranked as a Market Leader in IFLR1000 for UK Banking and Leveraged Finance.
He earned his Bachelor of Social Science in Politics and Law, and his Bachelor of Laws, from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.
About the Gibson Dunn Global Finance Practice Group
The Global Finance Practice Group serves clients around the world, including private equity sponsors, corporate borrowers, major financial institutions, and hedge funds. It includes more than 85 lawyers in our offices worldwide, advising on a broad array of financing transactions. The group works closely with mergers and acquisitions colleagues on acquisition financings and with the firm’s capital markets team. The group also draws extensively on the knowledge and skills of other specialist practice areas, such as environmental, tax, employee benefits, and litigation.
Gibson Dunn represented ESAB Corporation on a private placement offering of $700 million in aggregate principal amount of their 6.25% notes due 2029. The transaction closed on April 9, 2024.
The Gibson Dunn team included Andrew Fabens, Rodrigo Surcan, and Tom Caruso. Darius Mehraban provided assistance on finance matters, and Loren Lembo provided assistance on tax matters.
Gibson Dunn advised Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, in its partnership with Indigo Group, a global player in parking and urban mobility, to form a new Canadian joint venture to invest in parking assets.
The Gibson Dunn team consisted of Tomer Pinkusiewicz, Brennan Halloran and Ignacio Concha. Michael Cannon and Josiah Bethards advised on tax aspects; and Shukie Grossman advised on fund aspects.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP has advised ArcelorMittal on its €955 million acquisition of an approximately 28.4% stake in Vallourec, a manufacturer of premium tubular steel products.
The acquisition of approximately 65.2 million common equity shares from funds managed by Apollo Global Management Inc. will increase ArcelorMittal’s exposure to the downstream, value-added tubular market. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.
The Gibson Dunn team advising ArcelorMittal comprised partners Anna Howell (London) and Patrick Ledoux (Paris), and included partners Bertrand Delaunay and Benoit Fleury, of counsel Clarisse Bouchetemble, and associates Josephine Rolland and Agathe Joyce (corporate, Paris); partner Attila Borsos (antitrust, Brussels), and associates Claire Shepherd and Elsie Stone (antitrust, London); and partner Stephenie Gosnell Handler and associate Chris Mullen (international trade, Washington, D.C.).
Gibson Dunn represented Mondelēz International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ), one of the world’s largest snack companies, in its SEC-registered offering of $550 million aggregate principal amount of 4.750% Notes due 2029. The notes offering closed on February 20, 2024. BBVA Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Mizuho Securities USA LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as joint book-running managers in the notes offering.
The Gibson Dunn team included Andrew Fabens, Rodrigo Surcan, Lawrence Lee, Ian Mwiti Mathenge and Lily Paulson Stephens, and Lorna Wilson advised on tax matters.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Benjamin Rapp will join the firm in Germany as a tax partner.
Commenting on the hire, Sandy Bhogal, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Tax Practice Group, said: “Benjamin is a rising tax star in Germany and a go-to advisor for private equity and multinational clients. With his technical excellence, he will be a natural fit for our busy European tax practice.”
Dirk Oberbracht, Partner in Charge of the Frankfurt office, commented: “We are excited to welcome Benjamin—who is an excellent addition to our growing transactional and private equity practice in Germany—to Gibson Dunn.”
Benno Schwarz, Partner in Charge of the Munich office, added: “We look forward to working with Benjamin and to offering our clients the benefit of his extensive experience.”
Gibson Dunn has over 55 lawyers across its offices in Munich and Frankfurt. In the past two years, the firm has promoted lawyers Kai Gesing (Antitrust and Competition), Katharina Humphrey (White Collar Defense), Sonja Ruttmann (M&A) and Jan Schubert (M&A) to its partnership, and hired lateral partner Lars Petersen (Public Law and Regulatory) and of counsel Peter Gumnior (Labor and Employment).
Benjamin will join Gibson Dunn in the next few months, although his precise commencement date is to be confirmed.
About Benjamin Rapp
Benjamin is a certified tax advisor, practicing domestic and international tax law, with a focus on private equity and M&A. He also advises on restructurings in distressed situations, corporate reorganizations, and the structuring, implementation, and maintenance of complex management incentive schemes for financial investors. He is a recommended lawyer for Tax in Germany in The Legal 500 EMEA 2023 and The Legal 500 Deutschland 2023.
He obtained a business degree from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in 2008 and a BA in Business & Management from the University of Hull in 2006.
About Gibson Dunn’s Tax Practice Group
The Gibson Dunn Tax Practice Group advises large multinational corporations, publicly traded and private companies, sovereign wealth funds, investment funds, partnerships, joint ventures and start-ups on their most complex matters. The group advises clients in connection with a broad range of business transactions and investments, including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations and dispositions, insolvency restructurings, business combinations, capital markets offerings, and investment fund formations.
Gibson Dunn recently advised Gran Tierra Energy Inc. in the issuance of an additional $100,000,000 of its 9.500% Senior Secured Amortizing Notes due 2029. This offering is in addition to Gran Tierra Energy Inc.’s previous offering on October 20, 2023 of $487.6 million aggregate principal amount of notes in the same series.
Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (GTE: NYSE, TSX) is an independent international energy company currently focused on international oil and natural gas exploration and production with assets currently in Colombia and Ecuador.
The transaction involved multiple Gibson Dunn offices across the United States, and complex cross-border considerations including international securities, finance, and tax issues.
The Gibson Dunn team included Houston partner Hillary H. Holmes, New York of counsel Rodrigo Surcan, Houston of counsel Justine Robinson, and Houston associates Malakeh Hijazi and Matthew Goldstein. Houston partner Shalla Prichard advised on financing. New York partner Pamela Lawrence Endreny and associate Kate Long advised on tax aspects. London partners Chris Haynes, Hugo Hernández-Mancha, and Kavita Davis, and associate Martin Coombes advised on UK law matters. Singapore associate Alexandra Jones advised on Singapore law matters.