Michael Kazakevich is a partner in Ropes & Gray’s finance group in London, co-head of the firm’s global practice, and co-chair of the firm’s investment banking industry group.

Michael’s practice focuses on corporate finance transactions. He has advised issuers and underwriters in connection with high yield debt issues, secured leveraged loans, initial and follow-on public equity offerings, tender offers and acquisition financing commitments.

Experience

  • Advised Altice USA on the issuance of $2.05 billion senior guaranteed notes due 2029 by its subsidiary CSC Holdings. The proceeds from the issuance were utilised to prepay CSC Holdings' term loans maturing in 2025 and 2026, further extending the maturities on Altice USA's debt
  • Advised Altice International on an incremental term loan in the aggregate principal amount of €800 million
  • Advised Altice Financing S.A., a subsidiary of Altice International S.à r.l., on the issuance of US$1.925 billion and €700 million senior secured notes
  • Advised the lead arrangers and initial purchasers on a €75 million revolver and €275 million bridge to bond and related senior secured notes in connection with financing of Apax’s acquisition of Lutech
  • Advised Sotheby’s in connection with an offering of US$300 million senior notes 
  • Advised Altice France on an exchange offer for US$1.6 billion and €1.4 billion of senior notes of Altice Luxembourg
  • Acted for the initial purchasers on a £555 million equivalent senior secured notes of Boparan Group
  • Advised Altice USA on the issuance by its entity CSC Holdings of US$2 billion of senior guaranteed notes and senior notes due 2031
  • Advised Altice USA on the financing of its approximately US$2.3 billion sale of 49.99% of its Lightpath fiber enterprise business to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners
  • Advised Next Alt S.à r.l, controlled by Patrick Drahi, on the financing aspects of its €6.4 billion take-private of Altice Europe
  • Advised the initial purchasers in connection with offerings of senior notes by Intrum, the largest credit management company in Europe 
  • Advised BAML, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs along with other banks in connection with an offering by ConvaTec 
  • Advised the banks in connection with multiple offerings of senior notes by First Quantum Minerals Limited, a leading Canadian mining and metals company
  • Advised Altice Financing S.A., a subsidiary of Altice International S.à r.l., on the private placement tap of US$125 million and €105 million senior secured notes
  • Advised on a senior secured notes offering by Altice France S.A., an indirect subsidiary of New Altice Europe B.V. Funds from the offering will be used to fully redeem existing senior secured notes of Altice France S.A.
  • Advised Goldman Sachs and other banks on the €709 million equivalent senior secured notes offering by Oriflame Investment Holding plc, as well as an amendment to the accompanying €100 million super senior RCF 
  • Advised Goldman Sachs on the financing for the SEK13bn public takeover offer by the Af Jochnick family in respect of Oriflame Holding 
  • Advised BidFair on its US$3.7 billion acquisition of Sothe­by’s, which included advising on the acquisition financing aspects of the transaction, including a $600 million high yield bond, a $500 million Term Loan B and a $400 million revolving credit facility
  • Acting for Samsonite International S.A., the world’s largest travel luggage company, on the offering of 350 million 3.5% Senior Notes due 2026 by Samsonite Finco S.a r.l.
  • Advising J.P. Morgan and the other initial purchasers in connection with First Quantum Minerals' issuance of US$1.85 billion of Senior Notes
  • Acting for a leading global investor on a refinancing of the initial financing of the acquisition of Navico, a leading provider of marine electronics
  • Acting for a consortium in connection with a 3.6 billion equivalent high-yield bond and a 1.1 billion revolving credit facility for the merger of Lindorff and Intrum Justitia
  • Acting for J.P. Morgan in the arrangement and issuance of holdco PIK notes to finance Victory Soccer Limited’s acquisition of Lille Football Club
  • Acting for Altice in connection with various matters including:
    • the issuance of US$1.5 billion Senior Guaranteed Notes due 2029, by its subsidiary, CSC Holdings
    • the successful pricing and allocation of 2.8 billion of new 8-year Senior Notes at Altice Luxembourg following a well oversubscribed offering
    • the issuance of 675 million 4.75% Senior Notes due 2028
    • its cross-border equity and debt financing for the acquisition of Cablevision, the $10.6 billion debt financing package included a $3.8 billion covenant lite term loan, $2 billion revolving facility and three tranches of high yield notes: the offering of US$1.8 billion 10⅛% Senior Notes due 2023, US$2 billion 10⅞% Senior Notes due 2025 and US$1 billion 6⅝% Senior Guaranteed Notes due 2025 and Altice NV also raised 1.6 billion via an equity placement through the accelerated book build method
    • the financing for the acquisition by Altice of Suddenlink, the seventh largest cable system operator in the United States
    • the financing for the acquisition by Altice of PT Portugal SGPS, S.A. and certain other entities that make up the Portugal Telecom Group, a leading provider of integrated telecommunication services to residential and corporate customers in Portugal from Oi S.A.
    • advising Altice and Numericable Group in their jumbo US$21.9 billion cross-border bank and bond financing for the acquisition of French telecoms operator SFR
    • a US$1.0 billion covenant lite term loan, a 250 million senior notes issuance and 125 million in other bank financing in connection with the acquisition of Groupe Outremer Telecom S.A. and Oni SGPS S.A. and the fold-in of certain business owned by Altice VII into the existing restricted financing group
    • the offering of US$400 million 6½% Senior Secured Notes due 2022, 300 million 6½% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 and US$400 million 8⅛% Senior Notes due 2024. Proceeds of the Notes were used to finance a majority ownership in Orange Dominicana
    • the US$1.1 billion financing in connection with the take-private and refinancing of HOT-Telecommunications Systems Ltd., an Israeli telecommunications company
  • Advised Altice France on a 1.9bn senior secured credit facilities to finance the fibre-to-the-home infrastructure by SFR FTTH
  • Advised Altice USA on the structuring and financing aspects, totaling $6.75bn, of the combination of its Suddenlink (Cequel) and Optimum (Cablevision) businesses under a single credit silo 
  • Acting for Liberty Global plc in connection with the financing for its approximate 3.16 billion acquisition of Germany's third-largest cable TV operator, Kabel BW Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, from Swedish private equity group EQT Partners AB 
  • Acting for Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Nordeain connection with the 1.45 billion financing of Nordic Capital’s acquisition of a majority stake in Norway-based Lindorff, one of Europe’s leading providers of debt related administrative services
  • Acting for Vision Capital in connection with the 260 million bridge loan and 250 million 10% senior secured notes due 2018 to finance Vision Capital's acquisition of a portfolio of investments from Banco Popolare, including Bormioli Rocco, the international glass and plastic packaging manufacturer

Areas of Practice

    Disclaimer

    Ropes & Gray International LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in Delaware, United States of America and is a recognised body regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (with registered number 521000).