Global Finance Team Secures Funding for Innovative Take-Private

Dechert represented a consortium of lenders funding KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners’ US$12 billion take-private of global data center operator CyrusOne Inc.

“The transaction was challenging for two reasons,” says partner David Forti. “There was a quick turnaround time due to accelerated regulatory approvals – instead of its proposed close in the second half of 2022, the timetable was changed in February with a view to a close in March. Also, there was no template for the capital structure, which required innovations to marry corporate finance concepts with the customary features of a large-scale real estate M&A secured financing deal.”

The transaction’s financing was also notable because it involved both real estate and corporate finance mechanisms, requiring novel structuring. On the real estate side, two loans were secured by mortgages on a portfolio of data center properties across the U.S., while another loan was secured by data centers located across Europe.

Through this, and similar acquisition financing transactions, Dechert demonstrates its support for lenders looking to finance large public-to-private deals, reflecting an industry trend of public companies that own significant real estate assets being acquired and taken private.

The Dechert team also includes Matt Ginsburg and Ani Ravi.