Ropes & Gray today announced that Michael Nicklin is joining the global law firm as a lateral partner in the firm’s finance practice group in Hong Kong, providing increased services for clients with interests in Asia. Mr. Nicklin was previously a partner in the finance practice group at the London office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
Mr. Nicklin is a leading finance lawyer regularly representing private equity sponsors, banks and corporations in complex acquisition transactions, debt restructuring, debt buybacks, bank/bond deals and bridge finance. He has been recognized by Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, Chambers Global, Legal 500, IFLR 1000 and Legal Business’ Legal Experts.
“Ropes & Gray has already made a great impact in the Asian acquisition finance market, acting on some of the biggest and most complex transactions in the region,” Mr. Nicklin said. “I am looking forward to helping to further develop the Ropes & Gray finance practice in this increasingly dynamic market.”
The volume of deal activity is rapidly increasing in China and elsewhere in Asia. Mr. Nicklin offers Ropes & Gray’s domestic and international clients in this region further depth and expertise on financing transactions.
Mr. Nicklin was recognized for his acquisition finance experience in the 2010 edition of Chambers UK: A Client’s Guide to the UK Legal Profession, which stated, “Michael Nicklin has an excellent approach: he raises the points, asks which points are important for you and then will argue those on your behalf. The commerciality of his advice is spot on.”
Byung Choi, co-head of Ropes & Gray’s finance group, said, “Michael Nicklin is one of the finest finance lawyers around, and we are thrilled that he will be joining us as we enhance our offering to clients doing business in Asia. His experience and legal acumen will be tremendous assets to our global finance team.”
Mr. Nicklin has worked on some of the biggest recent deals in Europe, including:
- Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep Group’s $4 billion acquisition of Harcourt US Schools Education business of Reed Elsevier Group.
- Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd.’s £2.7 billion acquisition financing to purchase music company EMI Group.
- Premier Foods’ acquisition of Campbell Soup Company’s UK and Irish divisions for $845 million.
- Black Lion Beverages’ €1.95 billion refinancing of the existing facilities and payment of investor dividend.
- General Motors’ $1 billion delayed draw term loan facility for New Delphi 1, LLC and Delphi International Holdings.
A frequent speaker and author on acquisition finance and syndicated lending, Mr. Nicklin is also qualified to practice in the UK as well as New York where he worked for two years with Weil.
Mr. Nicklin joins an award-winning Hong Kong practice recognized in April by Asian Legal Business for its role in China’s “M&A Deal of the Year,” GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd.’s $3.4 billion acquisition of Jiangsu Zhongneng. Ropes & Gray’s private equity, intellectual property and capital markets practices and lawyers are highly ranked by Chambers Asia 2011: Asia’s Leading Lawyers for Business, one of the region’s most prestigious directories of premier law firms. Ropes & Gray was cited in Hong Kong, Japan and China. The firm was ranked among the leading firms in Hong Kong for Private Equity (Buyouts) and Japan for IP.
Related Posts:
- None Found