Latham Advises on Swissport’s Comprehensive Financial Restructuring
Latham & Watkins has advised the committee of senior secured creditors of Swissport, a global aviation services group, on the successful completion of its comprehensive financial restructuring. The committee consists of both US and European-based investors, namely funds managed by affiliates of Strategic Value Partners, LLC (“SVPGlobal”), Apollo Global Management, Inc., TowerBrook Capital Partners, Ares Management, Cross Ocean Partners and King Street Capital Management, LP.
The transaction, which places Swissport on a strong footing and foundation to facilitate turnaround, recovery and growth, was finalized on 21 December 2020. More particularly, Swissport will have a materially de-levered and strengthened balance sheet and liquidity position, with total existing debt reduced by some €1.9 billion, interest costs reduced by approximately €70 million, and a significant overall capital injection of approximately €500 million through the restructuring process.
In August 2020, the committee, together with certain other creditors of Swissport, agreed to provide €300 million of bridge financing to provide Swissport to with sufficient liquidity to facilitate the financial restructuring. That financing was implemented using, among other things, a UK scheme of arrangement (with U.S. Chapter 15 recognition).
The transaction itself was implemented by way of a combination of tools including a second UK scheme of arrangement (again with U.S. Chapter 15 recognition) and a pre-packaged administration sale to a newly incorporated group owned by the senior secured creditors.
Latham teams across practices and offices were led by London partners Yen Sum and Jennifer Brennan, with associates Jack Isaacs, Misa Schmiederova, James Hollingshead, and Greg Whitaker. US bankruptcy and cross-border litigation advice was provided by New York partners Robert Malionek, Adam Goldberg, George Klidonas, London partner Oliver Browne, and associates Sean McMahon, Christopher Kochman, Nacif Taousse, Sindhu Boddu, Matthew Valenti, and Florian Loibl; corporate and private equity advice was provided by London partner Martin Saywell and associates Ben Coleman, Jon Fox, Hyo Joo Kim, Zeynep Kocabas, and Haya Aftab; advice on banking and high yield matters was provided by New York partner David Teh, London partner Francesco Lione, with associates Maurice Stewart, Preeta Paragash, Tulika Sinha, Rob Lowe, and Rosie Wu; applicable regulatory advice was provided by London partner John Colahan, Washington, D.C. partner Les Carnegie, and associates Stephanie Adams and Tahura Lodhi; tax advice was provided by London partner Sean Finn, New York partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim, and associates James Leslie, Tegan Creedy, and Shruti Hazra; employment advice was provided by London partner Catherine Drinnan and associates Shaun Thompson and Natalie Brown.