Mezzanine Finance & Private Equity

Investment Team

Moore & Van Allen’s Investment Team is comprised of members of the corporate and finance practice areas and has a national practice representing private equity funds, business development companies, hedge funds, mezzanine funds, bank affiliates and institutional investors in their leveraged buy‑out transactions, mergers and acquisitions, private equity growth investments, mezzanine investments and senior debt loans. From 2001 to 2006, our Investment Team represented investors in closing more than 165 transactions totaling more than $4.3 billion in invested capital, including more than 60 transactions totaling approximately $1.6 billion in invested capital in 2006 and more than 30 transactions totaling more than $700 million in invested capital in 2005.

Mezzanine Finance and Senior Debt Lending

Our Investment Team represents mezzanine finance and senior lending clients in Houston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Nashville, Connecticut and the Carolinas. Our Investment Team has closed mezzanine finance and senior lending transactions ranging in size from $2 million to over $100 million in invested capital. Moore & Van Allen also represents several of the largest U.S. lenders, including Bank of America and Wachovia, and ranked third in 2006 among all U.S. law firms representing lead arrangers in syndicated senior loan transactions by closing over 115 loan transactions representing over $49 billion in debt.[1] Moore & Van Allen was the only law firm ranked in the 2006 LPC League Table Top 10 that is headquartered outside of New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago. Our Investment Team’s extensive experience in the debt capital arena enables us to provide keen insight and perspective to our mezzanine finance and senior lending clients in all areas of finance transactions, including current market trends in pricing as well as subordination and intercreditor matters.

Private Equity

Utilizing the transactional experience of its corporate and finance practice members, Moore & Van Allen’s Investment Team represents private equity sponsors in Washington, D.C., Dallas, Birmingham, Houston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Nashville, Connecticut, and the Carolinas. Recognized in the Southeast for its strong merger and acquisitions practice, our Investment Team has a keen understanding of the U.S. private equity markets from the perspective of buyers and sellers. Our private equity sponsors rely on us to advise them on structuring, negotiating, documenting and closing all aspects of leveraged buy‑out and related transactions. We work closely with our clients to understand the business to be acquired and efficiently structure the transaction from the tax and corporate perspectives to accomplish the desired allocation of risk between the parties. We also conduct due diligence on the target business, structure and negotiate the terms of the senior/mezzanine debt and equity capital and counsel our clients on management compensation and related employee matters.

Value-Added Counsel

As a result of these transactions, Moore & Van Allen has built a solid network of business, transaction and deal contacts throughout the U.S. In an effort to support its clients, the members of the Investment Team act as referral sources for Moore & Van Allen clients in finding capital, seeking acquisition candidates, referring investment and lending opportunities, hiring investment bankers and advisors, finding management team candidates, exploring strategic alliances and building businesses.

Moore & Van Allen Investment Team Contacts

Chinuntdet, John / Investments
Evans, John / Investments
McKinzie, Wayne / Finance
Smith, Ryan / Investments

[1] Source: LPC Loan Pricing Corporation League Table – 2006 Legal Lender Lead Arranger by Number of Deals, January 17, 2007