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Asset management firm undertakes ‘first ever’ Aus unitranche financing
Hogan Lovells has advised one of the world’s leading asset management firms in its first ever Australian unitranche financing.
Emma Musgrave
Firm: Hogan Lovells (Barings)
Value: Undisclosed
Area: Finance
Key players: The Hogan Lovells Australia team comprised partner Richard Hayes, senior associate Francis Booth, associate Sherry Khalili and law graduate Eric Van Winssen.
Deal significance: According to a statement from Hogan Lovells, this is the first ever Australian unitranche/super senior structured financing conducted by Barings.
“With over US$288 billion in assets under management, Barings is one of the world's leading asset management firms and is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group,” the statement said.
“Barings' unitranche financing has been used by The Riverside Company (Riverside) to acquire Energy Exemplar, one of the world's leading providers of optimisation-based modelling and simulation software primarily serving the energy market.
“Energy Exemplar's core business, operating under the PLEXOS brand, is well-recognised in the global energy community and is used by a diverse range of customer groups, including energy market participants, system planners, investors, regulators and consultants.”
Commenting further on the deal, Mr Hayes said, “We were delighted to assist our client, Barings, with the structuring, negotiation, documentation and successful completion of this ground breaking transaction involving teams from our Sydney, London and Los Angeles offices working seamlessly together.
“The deal is significant for the Australian financing market given the novel nature of the unitranche/super senior structures. Unitranche structures comprise a single take-and-hold facility and carry a blended margin, which replaces the need for separate senior and mezzanine facilities.
“We expect unitranche will soon become more common given the number of global debt funds and banks already familiar with these structures.
“Hogan Lovells have been at the forefront of the development of the unitranche market in Europe since its inception in 2008 and continues to advise many of the leading direct lenders on leveraged finance transactions throughout the world.”
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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