Toby Bingley

Global law firm Freshfields has represented a syndicate of initial purchasers on an upsized $1 billion Rule 144A and Regulation S issuance of Senior Secured Notes due 2032 by Sable International Finance Limited, a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Communications Limited. The proceeds of the offering were used to refinance the Cable & Wireless group’s outstanding Senior Secured Notes due 2027 in full, and a portion of its outstanding Senior Notes due 2027. In connection with the offering, the Cable & Wireless group also entered into certain maturity extension amendments to the group’s revolving credit facilities. Together, these transactions address a significant portion of the Cable & Wireless group’s near-term debt maturities and pave the way for the group to opportunistically manage its maturity profile in the future. The Freshfields team was led by leveraged finance and capital markets partner Haden Henderson alongside senior associate, Shruti Dusaj, and associates Ahmed Yacout, Ariane Choupo and Mitchell Howell. The team was also supported on English law matters led by leveraged finance partner Toby Bingley alongside associate Marco Hughes. The transaction represents another example of a market leading cross-border transaction by Freshfields’ high yield team, which has an established reputation for providing strategic, commercial and practical guidance on the most challenging and complex high yield bond offerings worldwide.

Oct 10

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields advised Fressnapf Holding SE on its successful bank and bond financing transaction, in connection with Fressnapf’s acquisition of Agrifarma SpA (trading as Arcaplanet) from Cinven and Cinven’s minority investment in Fressnapf. The Financing consists of €800m senior notes due 2031 and an €300m revolving credit facility (RCF). The Fressnapf Group is the European market leader for pet supplies and opened the first ’Fressnapf’ specialist store in 1990 in Erkelenz (NRW). The company is headquartered in Krefeld, with additional offices in Venlo (NL) and in the national companies. It operates in key European markets. Today, approximately 2.000 Fressnapf and Maxi Zoo stores with employees from over 50 nations belong to the group of companies. In Germany, the majority of the stores are operated by independent franchise partners, in other European countries as own stores. Freshfields advised Fressnapf on all legal aspects, including English, German and New York law elements. Freshfields also advised Cinven on its investment in Fressnapf. The Freshfields team also worked closely with Fressnapf’s treasury team around Katja Bruns and Holger Winterfeld as well as its legal team around Frank Hartmann. The Freshfields team included the following: Bond Financing: Partners Simone Bono (London), Christoph L. Gleske (Frankfurt), Haden Henderson (London), Principal Associate Daniel von Bülow (Frankfurt), Senior Associate Shruti Dusaj (London), Associates Ahmed Yacout Saleh, Enzo Paganetti and Angela Chen (all London). Additional support was provided by Principal Associate Birgit Schulz (Frankfurt), Associates John Sichelschmidt and Linus Cathomas (both Frankfurt). Bank Financing: Partners Mario Hüther, Michael Josenhans (both Frankfurt), Toby Bingley, Christopher Davis (both London), Associates Lucas Lengersdorf (New York/Frankfurt), Kelsey Pepper (London), Alexander Bräuer (Frankfurt) and Peter Benson (London) Tax: Partner Martin Schiessl, Principal Associates Christian Schmidt and Sebastian Jung (all Frankfurt)

Nov 8

1 min

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (“Freshfields”) is advising Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“Ontario Teachers’”) on its agreement to acquire a majority stake in Seven Investment Management (“7IM”), a leading UK wealth manager, from Caledonia Investments plc. 7IM is a client centric, technology-driven wealth and investment manager that manages approximately £21 billion of assets on behalf of more than 2,300 financial advisory firms and 7,000 private clients across the UK. Founded in 2002, 7IM is headquartered in London and Edinburgh, and has more than 500 colleagues across the UK. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. The Freshfields team is being led by partners Patrick Ko and Richard Johnson, together with partners Emma Rachmaninov on financial services regulatory matters; Toby Bingley, Chris Davis, Aled Batey and Richard Hart on financing; Rachael Annear and Giles Pratt on IP/IT matters; Helen Buchanan on tax matters; and David Mendel on employment matters.

Sep 5

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields are advising Property Finder International Ltd. (Property Finder), the Middle East’s leading property portal, on a new $170 million investment from the Mubadala Investment Company, alongside another UAE sovereign wealth fund and BECO Capital. Mubadala and the UAE sovereign wealth fund will each invest $75 million, with BECO Capital committing $20 million. This commitment follows the $525 million investment led by funds advised by Permira, with significant participation from Blackstone Growth in 2025. Property Finder has also raised a further $250 million in debt financing from Ares Management and HSBC. The Freshfields cross-border team was led by partners Julian Pritchard and Maria Ledeneva, counsel Adam Halewood, senior associate Stephanie Paterson and associates Chelsea Burns, Brandon Thompson and Lisha Xu. Financing advice was provided by partner Toby Bingley, senior associates Christina Banz and Sonam Cheema, and associate Joanna Ma. Antitrust advice was provided by partner Paul Van Den Berg, principal associate Jan Jeram and associate Gisela Santos. Tax advice was provided by partner May Smith and associate Ian Galvin.

Jan 29

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised AEA Investors on a majority investment in SCIO Automation. The closing of the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. SCIO Automation is an international end-to-end automation platform with the mission to support companies on their journey towards Industry 4.0. As a system integrator, SCIO Automation automates production and logistics processes. As an innovator, SCIO Automation develops value-added and customised automation products for the autonomous mobile robots, software and cleanroom sectors, as well as for food intralogistics and industrial labeling. The SCIO Automation platform currently comprises ten company brands, totalling more than 1,100 employees at 30 locations in eight countries worldwide, all of whom play a part in implementing the smart factory concept for global players in a wide range of industries. The Freshfields team is led by partners Arend von Riegen (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and Tim Wilmot (Corporate/M&A, London) and includes partner Toby Bingley (Finance, London), Senior Associate George Milne (Corporate/M&A, London), Associate Nick Surgey (Corporate/M&A, London), Principal Associate Christoph Becherer (Corporate/M&A, Berlin),  Associates Anna Dominke, Johannes Rogge-Balleer (both Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Antonius Gehringhoff (Corporate/M&A, Berlin), Senior Associate Kate Hatcher and Marie Boudard (both Finance, London).

Jul 11

1 min