Latham & Watkins Advises the Cross-Holders Coordinating Committee in Connection With the Financial Restructuring of the Europcar Group

Europcar Mobility Group announces the finalization of its balance sheet restructuring, thanks to the successful completion of the different steps of its accelerated financial safeguard plan approved by the Paris Commercial Court on February 3rd, 2021. 

The financial restructuring, which is effective since February 26th, 2021, enables, among other things:

• A massive deleveraging, via the reduction of the Group’s corporate indebtedness by €1,100 million euros through the equitization in full of its 2024 and 2026 Senior Notes and Credit Suisse Facility;
• A significant new money injection, with the contribution in equity of €250 million euros as well as the granting of new fleet financing up to €225 million euros, which was backstopped by the members of the cross-holders coordinating committee and certain other bondholders who agreed to make the same undertaking;
• The refinancing of the RCF for a total amount of €670 million (with an RCF line of €170 million and a term loan (2023) of €500 million), which was backstopped in a similar way to the injection of new money. 

As a reminder, the restructuring had been negotiated in the context of amicable confidential proceedings (mandat ad hoc/conciliation) and was pre-arranged (via the signature of a lock-up agreement in particular by the members of the cross-holders coordinating committee) to be implemented in the context of an accelerated financial safeguard procedure, the effects of which were officially recognised in the United States through a Chapter 15 order.

This will enable the Group to accelerate the implementation of “Connect”, its strategic roadmap, while actively preparing for the progressive recovery of domestic and international travel.

Latham & Watkins advised the members of the cross-holders coordination committee and new main shareholders of the Europcar group (i.e. Anchorage, Attestor, Diameter, King Street and Marathon which together hold more than 60% of the group's capital following the restructuring operations that took place on February 26th, 2021) in this transaction with a team in Paris led by partner Alexandra Bigot, counsel Thomas Doyen, Célia Jiquel and Eeva Bernard in restructuring and partner Thomas Margenet-Baudry on capital markets aspects notably High Yield and securities law with Philippe Tesson. Partner Michel Houdayer, Aurélien Lorenzi and Fanny Barrière advised on financing aspects, partner Olivia Rauch-Ravisé and Jean-Baptiste Bourbier on tax aspects, partner Adrien Giraud and Clément Pradille on competition aspects and Camille Dorval and Daphnée Setondji on compliance aspects. The Latham & Watkins Paris team was also supported by other firm's offices (London, NY, Washington, Frankfurt, Milan) on various technical aspects, notably with partner Jeremiah Wagner and Boin Cheong in London on securitisation and fleet finance, partner Jeremy Green and Yana Nastyushenko in London on derivatives aspects, partner Charles Claypoole and Thomas Lane in London and partner Eric Volkman in Washington DC on compliance and sanctions, partner Adam Goldberg in NY on US/Chapter 15 restructuring aspects and counsel Peter Todaro in Washington DC on antitrust aspects.