Partners Named Among Most Influential Minority Lawyers in Chicago

Crain’s Chicago Business has named partners Zulfiqar Bokhari and Roderick Branch to its inaugural list of the “Most Influential Minority Lawyers in Chicago.” Bokhari is a partner in the Finance Department and Branch serves as Co-chair of the Corporate Department in the Chicago office.

Bokhari, a member of the firm’s Banking Practice, is recognized for his reputation as one of the most influential lawyers in the syndicated loan markets, having represented many of the world’s largest banks and financial institutions on the structuring and syndication of senior credit facilities, including acquisition, recapitalization, bridge, working capital and other domestic, cross-border and multicurrency financings. The diversity of Bokhari’s practice is particularly noteworthy – he regularly represents lead banks across the credit spectrum (from unsecured investment grade to secured leveraged high yield), transaction size (from middle market to large cap jumbo investment grade) and product type (asset-based loans and cash flow loans). Recently, Bokhari represented a major U.S. bank as the lead financing source in $2 billion bridge and permanent financings for Moody's Corporation to acquire Bureau van Dijk, a global provider of business intelligence and company information. He also recently represented two leading U.S. banks as the lead financing sources in a $1.7 billion acquisition financing for ABM Industries to acquire GCA Services Group.

Branch, a member of the firm’s Capital Markets and Latin America Practices, is recognized for his reputation as one of the most influential cross-border capital markets lawyers, and was also named to the Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40” list in 2015. Recently, Branch advised Vista Oil & Gas, S.A.B. de C.V. (Vista) in its $650 million global initial public offering, which closed in August. Vista's IPO introduced a new asset class to Latin America, as the region's first special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to go public and the first oil and gas exploration and production-focused company to list on the Mexican Stock Exchange. Branch also advised Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova), Mexico's largest private-sector energy company, on its $1.6 billion follow-on equity offering, the largest equity offering in Latin America in 2016. Additionally, Branch has represented an impressive roster of Chicago-based clients on influential transactions, including major bond financings for Hyatt Hotels, Ventas, Illinois Tool Works and TransUnion. He also advised on the IPOs of Hyatt and TransUnion.