EXP: Leveraged Finance (Friedman)
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Drafting Legal Documents
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
20% Participation,
30% Paper,
50% Other (Presentation: 10%
Covenant and collateral analysis: 20%
Short drafting assignments: 20%
)
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can make PowerPoint slides or other class materials available to you.
- When you are better, please make an appointment to meet with me and I will review/answer questions about what you missed.
Meeting Times/Location
R 4:30PM - 6:20PM
Silverman Hall 245A
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
2.0
This course examines leveraged finance transactions and credit agreements with a focus on the legal and commercial considerations faced by private equity firms, portfolio companies and lenders when entering into secured financings. Students will become familiar with the architecture of debt commitments and credit agreements, including affirmative and negative covenants, pricing constructs, borrowing mechanics, collateral requirements, intercreditor arrangements, lender voting clauses and events of default, and the interplay of these terms with LBOs, add-ons, refinancings, incremental facilities and other customary debt matters.
The class will be anchored in contemporary credit documentation, market trends and deal execution norms underlying the leveraged loan market. Through simulations and deal-based exercises, students will assume the roles of borrower’s counsel and lender’s counsel to negotiate and draft key clauses of credit agreements. Students will develop practical skills in reading and marking up hypothetical loan provisions, identifying subtle flexibilities and constraints, and assessing covenant packages and collateral structures.
Beyond the valuable specialized content, the course will be accessible for students interested in sharpening their practical skillset in transactional matters broadly. It will guide students to develop confidence around contract interpretation and to spot and resolve common debt-related impasses. We will discuss best practices for drafting, negotiation, diligence and client communication to help prepare students to assist on fast-paced acquisition financings and to understand borrower and lender priorities.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret complex credit documentation, negotiate core economic and covenant terms, and evaluate the legal implications of evolving market norms in syndicated loan and private credit transactions. The course is designed for students interested in corporate law, private equity, restructuring and finance.
Business and Corporate Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of business and corporate law; Perform legal analysis in the context of business and corporate law; Communicate effectively on topics related to business and corporate law; Demonstrate an understanding of the interconnection between the world of business and finance and that of business and corporate law, and how they affect other areas of law and society.
Textbooks
"The Credit Investor's Handbook: Leveraged Loans, High Yield Bonds, and Distressed Debt " by Michael Gatto |