Finance & Lending

Our finance and lending team understands the time sensitivities associated with the fast-moving world of corporate finance. As a result, our attorneys remain practical and move quickly and efficiently to close deals. We also have the experience, knowledge and resources of a national firm to be creative problem-solvers in unique situations. We work closely with our partners across the country or in other practice groups such as environmental, real estate, corporate and bankruptcy to quickly assemble the appropriate team for our clients’ needs.

Changes in the economy, continuing consolidation in the finance industry and the availability of capital present challenges and opportunities to lenders and their customers. Seyfarth Shaw’s Finance and Lending Practice Group attorneys work with both lenders and borrowers in structuring, negotiating and documenting finance transactions of all sizes and types including:

• Secured loans
• Syndicated loan transactions
• Real estate financings
• Construction loans
• Specialty loans ranging from dealership finance to fleet vessel construction
• Equity finance transactions
• Tax-Exempt financing and financing with government incentives

With offices across the country, we efficiently service national finance clients as well as local lending clients – offering them our depth of experience and a dedicated team of attorneys who personally work on deals throughout their life cycle.

Our attorneys understand the importance of providing quality legal services in structuring the right deals for our lending clients while balancing the need to be creative, efficient and flexible. As experienced practitioners who are practical and hands-on, we serve as trusted advisors to our clients. Simply put, we work to get deals done and simultaneously work to protect our clients’ interests. Given the continuing nature of the lender-borrower relationship, we are particularly sensitive to planning for the long term nature of the business between our clients and their borrowers.

Corporate and Business Lending

Our lending clients include local and community banks, national banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies and other private and public finance entities. Our clients engage us in a wide range of debt-related transactions including:

• Secured and unsecured credit facilities
• Inter-creditor arrangements
• Mezzanine financings
• Equipment leasing transactions
• Asset-based loans
• Syndicated loans
• Specialty financing
• Leveraged buyouts and management buyouts
• Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transactions
• Workouts, restructurings and bankruptcy matters

Equity Investments

Serving as trusted advisors, we help clients make loans and equity investments in new ventures, advising on the features of equity issuances and convertible debt, and other traditional deal points between a borrower and its lender/investor. Our goal is to provide responsive and efficient personal service.

We cover the full range of private equity transactions, and have particular experience in areas such as:

• Leveraged buy outs
• Management buy outs
• Convertible debt financings
• Venture capital investments
• Rollups
• Consolidations
• Dispositions and other exit transactions

Real Estate Finance

Seyfarth Shaw’s real estate finance attorneys offer sophisticated legal counsel to lenders and borrowers, including banks, insurance companies, investors, real estate developers, owners and management companies, nonprofit corporations and government entities, in negotiating and structuring loans, credit facilities and other financing alternatives. We are adept at executing international real estate transactions and handling related tax issues for those who are engaged in cross-border arrangements.

We believe foresight and planning can help clients structure transactions that meet their current objectives while reducing potential risks. We work with lenders involved in the full range of real estate financing activities including:

• Commercial and residential construction financing
• Lease financing
• Improved property and vacant land acquisitions
• Sale/leaseback arrangements
• Credit lines
• Leasehold and fee mortgage financing for leveraged buyouts
• Synthetic leases, such as construction agency and property management agreements representing both the lessor and the lessee
• Financing of environmentally impaired property
• Tax increment financing
• Tax-Exempt and government incentive financing