In its strongest showing to date, McGuireWoods placed No. 1 in deal count and ranked sixth in dollar volume in Thomson Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.’s year-end 2015 U.S. Lender Law Firm League Table for the firm’s representation of lead arrangers and bookrunners in syndicated debt financings. The firm recorded 161 deals valued at $112.8 billion for the year, both significant increases over its 2014 totals.
This marks the fifth consecutive year that McGuireWoods has ranked among the top 10 U.S. law firms in the league tables that debt finance professionals consider definitive. McGuireWoods recorded 128 deals for U.S. lenders valued at $91.6 billion in 2014. The 2015 totals represent a 26 percent increase in the number of deals and a 23 percent increase in the deal value.
In addition to its strong showing in the U.S. lender advisor rankings, McGuireWoods ranked third in Thomson Reuters’ Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Lender Law Firm League Table with $75.2 billion in transactions. The ranking is based largely on the firm’s representation of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in connection with a $75 billion loan facility that will finance Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s bid to acquire SABMiller Plc. Wells Fargo is among a group of banks involved in the transaction, which is the largest commercial loan on record in the global loan markets.
“These rankings reflect the dedication and experience of our lawyers in syndicated finance and the trust that our clients have placed in us,” said Raj Natarajan, chair of McGuireWoods’ debt finance practice. “We are proud and extremely grateful to represent our clients in these transactions and we look forward to an even stronger year in 2016.”
McGuireWoods has more than 80 debt finance and asset-based lending lawyers in its Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Richmond and Tysons offices. The firm has made key additions to its debt finance practice in 2016, with partner Mark Spitzer joining the McGuireWoods’ downtown Los Angeles office and partner Peter C. Butcher joining the firm in Pittsburgh.