Simon Cooke

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) completed on March 10, 2023 its acquisition of Vivint Smart Home, Inc. Latham represented the initial purchasers in simultaneous offerings of US$740.0 million aggregate principal amount of 7.000% Senior Secured First Lien Notes due 2033 and 650,000 shares of 10.25% Series A Fixed-Rate Reset Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock as partial financing for the transaction. Latham also represented the lenders in connection with an amendment increasing NRG’s revolving credit facility by US$500.0 million to support the transaction. Partners Dan Seale and Nicole Fanjul and counsel Clever Gallegos led the Latham banking team, with associates Lillian Xiao, and Sarah Lohschelder, while partner Keith Halverstam and counsel Ryan deFord led the capital markets team, with associates Simon Cooke and Ian Lachow. Advice was also provided on energy regulatory matters by Washington, D.C. partner Tyler Brown, with associate Jamie Blackburn; and on environmental matters by New York counsel David Langer.~~

Mar 20

1 min

On May 16, 2023, Heartland Dental, LLC, the nation's largest dental support organization providing non-clinical, administrative support services, closed an offering of US$535,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of its 10.500% senior secured notes due 2028. Latham & Watkins LLP represented the initial purchasers in the offering with a New York-based capital markets team led by partner Michael Benjamin and counsel Ryan deFord, with associates Simon Cooke, James Dorian, and Sabrina Singh. Advice was also provided on banking and finance matters by New York partners Jesse Sheff and Brian Rock, with associate Daniel Ovadia; on tax matters by New York partner Bora Bozkurt, with associate Michael Yu; on healthcare matters by Bay Area partner Betty Pang; and on data privacy matters by Washington, D.C. partner Marissa Boynton, with associate Kathryn Parsons-Reponte.~~

May 17

1 min

On May 5, 2023, WeWork Companies LLC and WW Co-obligor Inc., each a subsidiary of WeWork Inc., consummated the previously announced offers to exchange any and all of the Issuers’ outstanding US$669 million aggregate principal amount of 7.875% Senior Notes due 2025 and outstanding US$550 million aggregate principal amount of 5.00% Senior Notes due 2025, Series II. As part of the exchange consideration, the Issuers issued (i) US$525 million in aggregate principal amount of 15.00% (7.00% Cash/8.00% PIK) First Lien Senior Secured PIK Notes due 2027, Series I for cash payment, (ii) US$687 million in aggregate principal amount of 11.00% (5.00% Cash/6.00% PIK) Second Lien Senior Secured PIK Notes due 2027, (iii) US$23 million in aggregate principal amount of 12.00% Third Lien Senior Secured PIK Notes due 2027 and (iv) 1,112,900,605 shares of Class A common stock, par value US$0.0001 per share of WeWork Inc. Latham & Watkins LLP represented PJT Partners as the dealer manager in the transaction with a corporate and finance team led by partners Greg Rodgers and Corey Wright, with associates Simon Cooke, Adam Johnson, and MacLane Taggart. Advice was also provided on collateral matters by partner Brian Rock, with associates Sarah Lohschelder, Daniel Ovadia, Rebecca Tan, Han Lee, Fizza Hasan; and on tax matters by partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim, with associate Claire Park.~~

May 10

1 min

MBK Partners, the largest Northeast Asia-focused private equity fund, has acquired four ocean theme parks in China from Hong Kong-listed hospitality group Haichang Ocean Park Holdings Ltd. for a total consideration of CNY6.05 billion (approximately US$0.95 billion). The four ocean parks operate in four of China's first tier cities, Wuhan, Chengdu, Tianjin, and Qingdao. The transaction constituted a “very substantial disposal” by the Haichang group under the Hong Kong Listing Rules. A major carve out deal in China’s theme park industry in recent years, it involved brand licenses, debt financing and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG), and merger clearance elements. MBK Partners focuses on investments in North Asia and is one of the largest private equity funds in Asia with over US$25.6 billion in capital under management. The fund’s investment in Haichang Ocean Park underscores it's confidence over the potential growth in China's leisure and hospitality industry. As the first ever theme park operator listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, Haichang Ocean Park Holdings Co., Ltd. is an established theme park and ancillary commercial property developer and operator in China. Upon completion of the transaction, the Haichang group will continue to own and operate the remaining six ocean theme parks in China. Latham & Watkins advised MBK Partners in the transaction. The deal team was led by Hong Kong corporate partner Frank Sun with Beijing associate Haibo (Jason) Zhao, and Hong Kong associates Bonnie Tse, Haifan (Mark) Hu, and Yujie Zhang. Additional regulatory and strategic advice was provided by Hong Kong partners Simon Cooke and Terris Tang and London partner Catherine McBride; and advice on Hong Kong Listing Rules was provided by Hong Kong counsel See Wah (Mandy) Wong. Hong Kong partner Andrew Bishop, and associate Ruonan Duan advised on the debt financing and Hong Kong partner Kieran Donovan advised on the brand licenses issues, and London partner Paul Davies with counsel Michael Green advised on the ESG elements of the deal.~~

Jan 10

1 min

Option Care Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPCH), the nation’s largest independent provider of home and alternate site infusion services, has announced that an affiliate of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has agreed to sell 11,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price to the public of US$33.25 per share in an underwritten secondary offering. The offering is expected to close on August 18, 2022, subject to customary closing conditions. The Company will not receive any proceeds from the offering. Latham & Watkins LLP represents the underwriter in the offering with a capital markets team led by New York partners Michael Benjamin and Adam Gelardi, with associates Simon Cooke and Ian Lachow. Advice was also provided on tax matters by New York partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim, with associate Michael Syku.~~

Aug 17

1 min