Banking & Finance: Sponsors

Kirkland & Ellis houses a standout bench of market-leading sponsor-side specialists who are able to provide advice on the full gamut of European and US financing products. The team is active across the spectrum of mid-market to large-cap deals, acting on behalf of both domestic and international private equity clients. It is identified for its deft handling of bank and bond-financed LBOs and refinancings and ably assists clients with distressed matters spanning portfolio acquisitions and rescue financings. Its recent standout matters include cross-border P2P financings as well as preferred-equity structures. The law firm additionally offers a strong fund finance practice catering to investment fund clients.

"Kirkland & Ellis demonstrates an extremely high capability to grasp complex topics."

"The team offers very strong market knowledge, and is really well connected and always attuned to the latest market developments and trends."

"We trust them on our most complex and important matters and they have been involved in transactions across multiple jurisdictions."

"Kirkland are able to think creatively to drive optimisation of complicated structures and deliver tangible value to the transaction through millions in cost savings."

"The whole bench and team are excellent and you get top-tier execution from all of them."

Kirkland & Ellis advised SK Capital and its portfolio company Archroma on the financing for the USD718 million acquisition of Huntsman Corporation's Textile Effects division, which comprised a preferred equity instrument.

Stephen Lucas acts as a member of Kirkland's executive committee. He maintains an excellent reputation for his expert representation of sponsors in structured and leveraged finance matters. He is regarded as a go-to for major private equity houses to advise on complex matters.

Ian Barratt continues to be regarded as one of the premier choices for sponsor-side representation. He is frequently instructed by leading private equity clients to advise on leveraged acquisition finance matters and is well versed in cross-border transactions. "Ian Barratt is very detail-oriented and comes up with extremely inventive commercial solutions in highly complex situations."

Christopher Shield is held in high regard for his leveraged finance expertise and regularly acts for an impressive list of private equity clients on large-cap mandates such as public-to-privates and acquisition financings. "Christopher Shield is always available and commercially minded." "He is a great partner, who is super reliable and provides high-quality advice and good client service. He is a trusted adviser rather than only a lawyer. He is highly commercially sensible and not difficult. He simply gets it."

Kirsteen Nicol is a go-to practitioner in the London finance market and is noted in particular for her strength in large-cap cross-border financings. Her clients include a number of leading sponsors. "Kirsteen Nicol is a top lawyer and a trusted partner." "She is super responsive, very insightful and aware of the market even when it evolves quickly. She is clearly very good on the technical side but also very commercial. I know I can trust her to deal with high-level lawyers on the other side and get things done, which is incredibly helpful."

Evgeny Zborovsky regularly acts for well-known mid-cap as well as big-ticket sponsors, including on transactions with sophisticated structures and across jurisdictions. "We had a fantastic experience working with Evgeny and the team at Kirkland. He is extremely hands-on, user-friendly and always available. He successfully applied his market knowledge to our specific circumstances in a pragmatic and truly commercial way." "Evgeny is incredibly responsive and all over the detail, ensuring that every aspect of the financings is well thought through and executed superbly. He knows the market and always thinks through negotiations several steps ahead." "He is able to guide us on tricky questions and market conventions, with a considered balance of what is advantageous for us and when we need to make trade-offs."