Kirkland & Ellis International LLP advised CVC Capital Partners on the financing for CVC’s acquisition of Germany’s ista International GmbH. Ista offers energy management services to increase the energy efficiency of buildings. The financing is expected to include an aggregate of €2.3 billion of senior secured bank debt, senior secured high-yield bonds and senior unsecured high-yield bonds. The transaction is expected to close by mid year and will be Germany’s largest private equity deal in five years.
The Kirkland team was led by London-based debt finance partners Ward McKimm and Neel Sachdev and associate James Crooks.
This is Kirkland’s second significant transaction for CVC this year. In January, the Firm advised CVC and Cerved Technologies S.p.A. in connection with Cerved’s €780 million high-yield offering and €75 million super senior revolving credit facility, the proceeds of which were used to finance CVC’s acquisition of Cerved.
Earlier this year, the London-based debt finance team advised Bain Capital’s portfolio company Edcon on the refinancing of certain of its existing indebtedness through a R4.12 billion term loan facility and €300 million of senior secured high-yield bonds. The Kirkland team that represented Bain was led by London-based partners Neel Sachdev, Ward McKimm and Cedric Van den Borren, and associates Mark Fine, Uma Sud, Carl Pickerill and Gilles Teerlinck.
Kirkland’s debt finance practice includes the representation of both borrowers and lenders in a wide variety of transactions. Kirkland finance lawyers are also active in the Firm’s private equity practice, as well as in its capital markets and restructuring practices, representing equity investors, buyout sponsors and borrowers, among others.
Kirkland & Ellis is a 1,600-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex debt finance, corporate/M&A, restructuring and tax, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, and intellectual property and technology matters. The Firm has offices in London, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Shanghai and Washington, D.C.
