In this week’s Fund Finance Friday, we release the first installment of our Sovereign Immunity Series, a new series in which we examine, in alphabetical order, the sovereign immunity status of each state. Today, we will provide a high-level overview of sovereign immunity in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas and California. Sovereign immunity is a complex legal issue, and one that has been discussed at great length in previous Fund Finance Friday articles.
Brickfield, the Fund Finance recruiter, this week released its 2022 banker compensation report, based on confidential surveys it has been collecting throughout the summer. As part of the report, be sure to check out the Cadwalader-contributed article about building a winning fund finance team and an interview featuring Cadwalader’s Wes Misson and Sam Hutchinson on key legal talent trends in fund finance. Access the full report here.
Bloomberg reported this week on fund level backleverage reportedly taken out by Apollo in connection with its acquisition of telecom and broadband assets from Lumen Technologies. The article is accessible here.
Bloomberg published an opinion piece by Shuli Ren this week that addressed fund finance in the context of a greater narrative around private equity.
We are very pleased to announce our newest Fund Finance team member: law clerk Meica Green, who is based in our New York office. Meica received her J.D. from Rutgers Law School, where she was Senior Articles Editor/Staff Editor of the Rutgers University Law Review. Welcome, Meica!
We continue to see significant interest in NAV financing products in both the U.S. and European markets, which is reflected in double digit year-over-year growth in our deal activity for these facilities to date. As compared to years past, there has been a noticeable uptick in new lenders willing to provide NAV financing (including both banks and private lenders). In mid-2020, at the outset of the pandemic, the spike in interest in NAV lending from sponsors was anecdotally explained by (i) sponsors being hesitant to call capital from LPs during the uncertainty of the pandemic and (ii) the inability of private equity-backed companies to obtain affordable financing during the disruptions caused by COVID shutdowns. Nonetheless, as these pandemic effects continue to fade and we shift to a very different macroeconomic environment, the demand for NAV lending remains strong. Here is a high-level summary of some of the key features of NAV loans, many of which are the focus of our conversations with clients.
On Wednesday, 300+ attendees participated in FFA University 1.0, and I was fortunate to get to provide the Closing Remarks to the highly engaged group. Below is a rough summary of the remarks I provided, which focused on my longer term predictions for our market, along with some career development tactics aimed at young professionals in Fund Finance in light of the uncertainties in the current macroeconomic landscape.
As financial conditions tighten, the private market is receiving its fair share of media coverage.
Following this week’s successful virtual FFA University 1.0, the more advanced 2.0 program for those seeking greater depth and networking opportunities will take place in person on Thursday, October 6 at Cadwalader's New York office, with a reception to follow. To join the waitlist, please click here.
Cadwalader's annual Finance Forum returns as an in-person event at the JW Marriott in Charlotte on Thursday, October 27. Programming will begin at 1:00 p.m. and continue throughout the afternoon, followed by a networking reception. Click here for a list of current panel topics and to register.