International law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, acted as counsel to Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley in connection with their respective senior secured financing commitments and the subsequent definitive bank financing documentation for the acquisition by Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic of a 50 percent stake in a holding company that integrated Santander’s Asset Management businesses. The remaining 50 percent continues to be owned by Banco Santander.
The US$1.4 billion senior secured bank financing included US$1.2 billion equivalent seven-year multi-currency term loans, which were made available in US Dollars, Euros and Pounds Sterling and a US$200 million multi-currency revolving facility.
Santander Asset Management, which the transaction valued in excess of EUR 2 billion, is a global asset management business headquartered in Madrid. The company currently operates in 11 countries throughout Europe, Latin America and North America and has assets under management of approximately EUR 150 billion through mutual funds, pension funds and institutional mandates, which invest in a wide range of underlying assets. Santander Asset Management has exclusive distribution access to Banco Santander’s retail branch network and is also focused on building up its independent institutional business.
The Milbank Global Leveraged Finance team, which was led by partners Marcus Dougherty in New York and Suhrud Mehta and Neil Caddy in London, included of counsel Patrick Holmes and associate Michelle Gilmore in London and associates Sarah Griffin, Stanley Boris, Malaika Lindo, Benjamin Sayagh and Lina Jun in New York. Also providing advice on various points in the transaction were: Corporate partner Mark Stamp and associates Dan Wayte and Anna Bryant, Securities partners Rod Miller and Stuart Morrissy, Intellectual Property partner Lawrence Kass, Employee Benefits partner Joel Krasnow and associates Robin Hezskel and David Mollo-Christensen and Tax partner Andrew Walker and associates Lysondra Ludwig and Joseph Reich.
