Milbank LLP is pleased to announce that a team led by financial restructuring partners Karen McMaster and Jacqueline Ingram has been recognised at the 2020 Turnaround and Transaction of the Year Awards, presented by the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).
The Milbank team – including special counsel Tina Lockwood and associates Elin Gosby and Laura Sekula – was recognised in the “International Company Turnaround” category for their work advising Njord Partners LLP in connection with the market-leading acquisition and restructuring of a majority shareholding in Portuguese high-voltage cable manufacturer Solidal – Condutores Eléctricos, S.A..
Working closely with AlixPartners, EY and Uría Menéndez in Portugal, the Milbank team assisted Njord in implementing important operational and strategic improvements, as well as a series of complex legal steps. As part of this, Milbank and Uría developed ground-breaking legal solutions to overcome significant challenges in the Solidal group structure, including unique Portuguese corporate law issues and weaknesses in the traditional “double Luxco” financing structure. Key steps included bridge financing, moving the “centre of main interests” of a Luxembourg holding company to England to facilitate a protective litigation strategy and the appointment of English administrators, an open market sales process and credit bid (one of the first Portuguese cross-border restructurings of this kind) and the seminal use of the Portuguese RERE (“Regime de Recuperação Especial de Empresas”) procedure.
Partner Karen McMaster commented, “It is always a privilege to work with a talented team on a truly successful turnaround and Milbank’s financial restructuring team is particularly proud of the outcome here. We are delighted that TMA have recognised this matter and the outstanding and innovative work our lawyers are achieving for our clients.”
Partner Jacqueline Ingram added, “This prestigious award is testament to the collective work and dedication of the teams at Milbank and Njord, as well as Uría, EY and Alix Partners. It reflects our experience dealing with complex and novel restructuring situations, whilst navigating intricate cross-jurisdictional challenges to develop groundbreaking solutions.”
Solidal – Condutores Eléctricos, S.A. is a leading manufacturer of power cables and supplier of integrated solutions for energy transmission and distribution. The company has over 50 years of experience delivering power cables (including High Voltage, Medium Voltage, Low Voltage, ASCRs and Aluminium Conductors) for projects across over 40 countries.
Njord Partners is a special situations investment manager founded in 2013 and with AUM in excess of €600M. The firm provides flexible debt and equity solutions to European middle-market companies facing complex situations and creates value in portfolio companies through strategic and operational enhancement program.
The Milbank team was led by partners Karen McMaster and Jacqueline Ingram, and included special counsel Tina Lockwood and associates Elin Gosby and Laura Sekula.
The TMA Turnaround and Transaction Awards, among the most prestigious and important recognition in the industry, will be presented at the TMA Annual Conference in September.
