Industry Insights and Expert Perspectives on Private Credit
We provide expertise in bespoke financing arrangements, stressed and distressed special situations, liability management and enforcement, and deliver out-of-court restructuring solutions and (when necessary) in-court resolutions. Matters span senior secured and unitranche facilities, preferred equity and hybrid capital, securitization and CLO structures, growth equity co-investments, exchange offers, uptiering and dropdown transactions, debtor-in-possession financings, Chapter 11 proceedings, English Part 26A restructuring plans and 363-sale processes.
Dechert's cross-disciplinary Capital Solutions team includes market-leading lawyers in our deal, restructuring, credit, tax, regulatory and litigation groups, allowing us to be nimble and bring practical and strategic judgment and execution certainty to the full range of capital structures. We advise on the governance dimensions of complex financings and restructurings; structure distressed M&A, debt-for-control transactions and structured equity and hybrid capital solutions; and steer clients through multi-party creditor and stakeholder negotiations with a consistent, solutions-oriented focus on achieving the best available outcome. We quarterback complex transactions from strategy to close, mobilizing the right team and toolkit for each situation to ensure best-in-class structuring, investment protection and desired results.
The breadth and complexity of capital challenges have grown dramatically. Companies, sponsors, lenders and creditors are increasingly seeking capital solutions that span the full capital life cycle – go-anywhere, bespoke strategies that bridge growth, address liquidity needs, navigate structural complexity and manage liabilities, execute recapitalizations and respond to market dislocation.
Clients rely on Dechert to handle these transactions no matter what form they take – senior debt, securitization, minority investment, control M&A or restructuring. Few firms have our strong experienced bench throughout a deal's life cycle. Our integrated, global team structures and executes bespoke capital solutions that optimize returns, preserve flexibility and manage downside risk – particularly in situations involving financial stress, dislocation or structural complexity. In every engagement, our goal is the same: protect and optimize our client's position, secure the right liquidity solution and establish a clear path forward through complexity and uncertainty.
Dechert's structured credit practice is a particular differentiator within our Capital Solutions platform. As the leading CLO firm globally, we bring to every capital solutions engagement an unmatched understanding of how securitization vehicles, rated fund structures and private credit platforms interact with the broader capital markets. This means that when a client is pursuing a complex financing – whether a bespoke hybrid structure, a rated continuation vehicle or a strategic equity partnership – we can design and execute across the full architecture of the transaction, from the CLO formation documents and the management company operating agreement to the fund-level LP structure and the institutional investor's evergreen access vehicle.
* Matter handled by members of our practice prior to joining Dechert.
Dechert advises creditors, ad hoc bondholder groups and institutional investors on the full spectrum of liability management (LME) transactions, including exchange offers, uptiering, dropdowns and debt-for-equity swaps. Our team brings deep experience navigating complex, multi-party creditor dynamics and anticipating how liability management transactions interact with – and sometimes precede – a formal restructuring process. Our lawyers are leaders in this field, having advised on more than US$47 billion of funded debt restructured across LMEs (led or supported) in the past two years and several market-first transactions.
Dechert advises lenders, credit funds and special situations investors on the full spectrum of distressed and opportunistic credit strategies, including rescue financings, bridge facilities and loan-to-own investments. Our team assesses structural risk, builds protective provisions and executes under time pressure – whether the situation calls for a consensual out-of-court solution or a contested in-court process. We regularly represent clients on both sides of distressed transactions, giving us a unique view into how counterparties will respond.
Dechert represents both lenders and debtors in some of the largest and most complex Chapter 11 cases in recent years. Our capabilities extend across the full DIP life cycle, from negotiating roll-up provisions and adequate protection packages to structuring first-of-their-kind instruments. We also advise on exit financings, rights offerings and asset-backed facilities that establish the post-emergence capital structure.
Dechert advises CLO managers, arrangers, investors and equity capital providers on the full spectrum of structured credit transactions. Our capabilities include CLO formation, reset and refinancing transactions; middle market and broadly syndicated CLOs; collateralized fund obligations (CFOs) and rated feeder fund structures; private loan securitizations and esoteric ABS; risk retention structures including majority-owned affiliate (MOA) and EHRIG arrangements; warehouse financing and subscription credit facilities; and secondary transfers of CLO equity and management contracts. We also counsel clients on the structuring of strategic capital partnerships – including evergreen fund-of-one structures, SMAs and JVs – through which institutional investors access CLO equity on a long-term basis.
Dechert represents debtors, creditor groups, official committees and acquirors in the full range of restructuring and recapitalization scenarios. We advise on fully consensual out-of-court deleveraging transactions and debt-for-equity recapitalizations to complex prearranged and prepackaged Chapter 11 proceedings, cross-border insolvencies and English Part 26A restructuring plans. We counsel on governance, fiduciary duty and valuation issues as integral parts of restructuring strategy.
Dechert advises asset managers, sponsors and institutional investors on the structuring and negotiation of preferred equity, convertible instruments and hybrid capital arrangements across a wide range of transaction types, including recapitalizations, growth financings, GP-stakes deals, co-investments and pre-IPO structured investments. Our team navigates the complex interplay between equity economics, debt-like protections and governance rights, designing bespoke waterfalls, PIK mechanisms, anti-dilution provisions and liquidity triggers that protect our clients' positions across market cycles. We regularly advise on cross-border transactions involving multiple investor classes and competing interests, where integrated tax, regulatory and corporate structuring are essential.