Scott M. Zimmerman, head of the firm's leveraged finance practice, has extensive experience representing public and private companies, private equity firms, and commercial and institutional providers of senior debt and mezzanine capital.
Mr. Zimmerman advises on a broad range of financing transactions, including public and private equity and debt offerings, secured lending, recapitalizations, and restructurings. A significant portion of his practice is dedicated to the representation of private equity firms in the acquisition finance area, as well as providers of senior debt and mezzanine capital, including junior secured and unsecured debt and structured preferred equity investments. He is consistently listed for his work in this area by The Legal 500 (U.S.), which noted in a recent edition that he “clearly know(s) leveraged finance inside out” and “has the ability to handle complex, syndicated transactions in a diplomatic fashion.”
Mr. Zimmerman's clients include leading financial institutions, business development companies, private equity sponsors and hedge funds, such as Court Square Capital Partners, Versa Capital Partners, Centre Partners, Sterling Investment Partners, Prospect Capital Corporation, Norwest Mezzanine Partners, GarMark Partners, and Wells Fargo, among others.
Significant Representations
Representative leveraged finance transactions that Mr. Zimmerman has handled include:
- Elliott Associates as the largest senior secured DIP lender in a $3.5 billion credit facility and subsequent $3.145 billion debt and equity exit financing related to the contested Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Delphi Corporation, a global auto-parts maker once owned by General Motors;
- DSI Holding Company, Inc. in connection with a restructuring pursuant to which certain co-investors invested new capital and the pre-existing debt arrangements were modified including through partial paydown and conversion of debt into equity and equity equivalents of DSI, which ultimately readied DSI for its $690 million sale to DaVita Inc.;
- Prospect Capital Corporation as lender in several mezzanine finance transactions, including a $58 million first-lien senior secured credit facility to support the acquisition of Cargo Airport Services by a leading private investment firm; and a $28.2 million financing in senior secured credit facilities to support the acquisition of Stauber Performance Ingredients by private equity firm ICV Partners;
- Court Square Capital Partners in connection with the financings related to several acquisitions, including The Harvard Drug Group, MailSouth Inc., and Encompass Digital Media Group, Inc.;
- Centre Partners Management in the complex acquisition financing related to its acquisition of Connor Bros Income Fund, involving senior secured and senior subordinated facilities as well as preferred and common equity;
- Wachovia Bank as agent in a $1.25 billion unsecured revolving credit facility for CapitalSource, Inc.;
- Norwest Mezzanine Partners III, LP as lender in numerous financings related to the acquisitions by: Norwest Equity Partners of Savage Arms, Inc.; Frontenac Company LLC of Hospitality Staffing Solutions Group, LLC; and Industrial Opportunity Partners of the light duty filtration business of Cummins, Inc. (later named IOP Filter);
- El Tejar S.A.A.C eI, Tafilar S.A., and O Telhar Agropecuaria Ltd as borrowers in connection with the $150 million issuance of syndicated A/B term loan facilities;
- Sterling Investment Partners in connection with the business combination of its portfolio company Opinionology, Inc. with Survey Sampling International, LLC, a portfolio company of Providence Equity Partners, and the related refinancing of the portfolio companies’ existing indebtedness;
- GarMark Partners as lender in numerous mezzanine finance transactions, including those involving Finch, Pruyn & Co, MW Manufacturing, Penske Transportation Components, Experimental and Applied Sciences, and Forest Resources, among others;
- An affiliate of HIG Capital in the provision of a pre-petition second lien bridge loan and post-petition DIP credit facility in connection with the Chapter 11 cases of Alexander Gallo Holdings, LLC;
- Monster Worldwide in a $250 million senior unsecured credit facility; and
- Prudential Insurance Company of America as lender in the $250 million shelf note facility to ICRE REIT Holdings and a $200 million unsecured loan to PPF Funding Inc., an affiliate of Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Zimmerman also has substantial experience in debt restructurings and de-leveraging transactions. For example, he represented Inland Fiber Group in the pre-negotiated Chapter 11 restructuring of $225 million of public notes for the owner of 167,000 acres of timberland and cutting rights on 68,000 acres of timberland in Oregon and Washington. In addition, he advised on the consensual workout for Anchor Danly, represented GarMark Partners in the restructuring of Bell Sports and the subsequent sale of the company to Fenway Partners, and advised GSC Group as lead lender in the restructuring of approximately $200 million of the secured debt of Oreck, Inc.
In the mergers and acquisitions area, Mr. Zimmerman has handled stock and asset acquisitions and dispositions, leveraged buy-outs, and issuer and third party tender offers. He also advises on general corporate matters.
Education
University at Albany, State University of New York, B.A., 1981, cum laude
University at Buffalo Law School, J.D., 1984
Bar Admissions/Qualifications
New York