Distressed Asset Investing/Bank Deleveraging

Our Distressed Asset team is a leading adviser on the acquisition, disposal and management of non-performing loans (NPLs) and other distressed assets in Ireland and elsewhere since the late 1990s. The team has been particularly dominant in the Irish market and has been to the forefront of Irish bank deleveraging with involvement on many of the major loan portfolio transactions since the beginning of the Irish market.

We regularly advise international and domestic financial institutions, distressed asset funds, special situation funds and other service providers and agencies involved in the disposal, acquisition, financing and/or management of loan portfolios.

The group offers an integrated service, combining the expertise of our Banking and Capital Markets, Taxation, Insolvency and Restructuring, Real Estate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Corporate teams. We offer unique insights based on our extensive experience of advising on securitisations and other asset repackaging transactions.

Our comprehensive service covers all elements of the acquisition, disposal and loan management process, including:

• due diligence on the sale portfolios;
• remediation of issues on portfolios prior to sale;
• and all associated structuring, tax, legal and regulatory issues that arise during and following the sale transaction.

We also regularly advise some of the more active funders of big ticket loan portfolio acquisitions.

Representative transactional work includes acting for and advising:

• NAMA on its successful disposal of Project Emerald and Ruby, which was in the top five European distressed real estate transactions in 2016.
  
• NAMA on the disposal of the Gem Portfolio another top five European distressed real estate transaction.
• Goldman Sachs on the acquisition of the Griffin Portfolio from Danske Bank A/S – reported par value approximately €540m.
  
• Goldman Sachs and CarVal on their bid on the Finn Portfolio from Ulster Bank – reported par value approximately €2.6bn.
• Deutsche Bank on its bid for the Nadal Portfolio from Ulster Bank – reported par value approximately €200m.
• Loan servicers on the workout of various portfolios acquired in the Irish market.
• Dilosk Limited in the acquisition of the former ICS performing book from The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland – reported par value €200m.

• Advising on the first public auction of Korean non-performing debt organised by Korea Asset Management Corporation and numerous subsequent acquisitions and financings of distressed Korean assets.

• Advising several global distressed asset buyers on NPL and other distressed asset acquisitions and financings in Japan.

• Advising Shinsei Bank and others in relation to multiple European (in particular, German) distressed debt acquisitions and related financings and/or securitisation.

• Acted for a fund as originator in the €1.34 billion Bluebonnet Finance plc securitisation of German non-performing loans, which was the largest European NPL transaction at that time.