Covington & Burling is pleased to announce that Gary Guzy, most recently deputy director and general counsel of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and a former general counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency, is joining the firm’s environmental, clean energy, public policy, and government affairs practices.

More >>

A Weil team, led by New York partners Morgan Bale and Matthew Bloch, advised Goldman Sachs in connection with providing committed bridge financing (and related matters) backing the acquisition by Sysco Corporation of US Foods, Inc., uniting two of the biggest food distributors in the country. The transaction will give US Foods’ current owners, the investment firms Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a roughly 13 percent stake in the combined company. Including the assumption of US Foods’ debt, the transaction is valued at $8.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter next year, pending antitrust approval.

More >>

Shearman & Sterling represented BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and The Bank Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. as joint lead arrangers and joint book managers in connection with a $13 billion financing, a $4.334 million 364-day credit facility, a $4.333 million 3-year credit facility and a $4.333 million 5-year credit facility for Toyota Motor Credit Corporation and some of its affiliates.

More >>

Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce that Rob Kovacev, a former senior litigation counsel in the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Tax Division, has joined the firm as a partner.  Mr. Kovacev’s arrival continues the expansion of Steptoe’s Tax Group, which welcomed partner Bob Rizzi in October.

More >>

Vedder Price is pleased to announce that Scott H. Olson has joined the firm’s Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights practice group today as a Shareholder in the firm’s San Francisco office.

More >>

Global law firm Reed Smith advised Wilmington Trust and Eurosail-UK 2007-5NP plc in the extensive restructuring of the £662 million residential mortgaged-backed securitisation (“RMBS”) originally arranged by Lehman Brothers.

More >>

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP represented Vitruvian Partners, an independent private equity firm, in the successful closing of Vitruvian Investment Partnership II, with total commitments of £1 billion. The fund was oversubscribed and closed at its self-imposed hard cap.

More >>

Hunton & Williams LLP advised Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, RBS Securities Inc. and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., as joint-booking running managers on an SEC registered offering by Alabama Power of $300 million aggregate principal amount of Series 2013A Senior Notes due December 1, 2023.

Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company, provides reliable, affordable electricity to more than 1.4 million people across the State of Alabama.

www.hunton.com

Cravath represented the underwriters, led by BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities and RBS, in connection with the US$3.5 billion registered debt offering of Johnson  & Johnson, a company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of a broad range of products in the healthcare field. The transaction closed on December 5, 2013.

The Cravath team included partner Craig F. Arcella and associates Andy Ham and Thomas K. Wiesner III. Cameron S. Stanton also worked on this matter.

www.cravath.com

Cahill represented the joint book-running managers and co-managers in connection with the public offering of $1,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 2.750% Senior Guaranteed Notes due 2017 by Ally Financial Inc. Proceeds from the offering were used for general corporate purposes and to redeem certain outstanding debt securities.

www.cahill.com