Ropes & Gray Named a Finalist for IFLR’s “Restructuring Law Firm Team of the Year” Award and Recognized for Three “Deals of the Year”

IFLR recently announced its finalists for the 2015 Asia Awards, with Ropes & Gray featured in three categories. Ropes & Gray was named a finalist for “Law Firm Team of the Year” in the restructuring category, and two matters handled by the firm were recognized as finalists for “Restructuring Deal of the Year,” as well as one matter named a finalist for “High Yield Deal of the Year.”

The restructuring matters recognized by IFLR for “Restructuring Deal of the Year,” which earned the restructuring team a finalist spot for “Law Firm Team of the Year,” include work performed for an ad hoc committee of bondholders for Suzlon Energy, Ltd., an Indian wind-turbine maker, involving the restructuring of approximately $580 million in foreign currency convertible bonds. Also recognized was Ropes & Gray’s representation of an ad hoc committee of holders of New York law-governed 10% senior notes issued by LDK Solar Co. Ltd., within the context of a larger restructuring of LDK’s offshore liabilities and following a default in the payment of interest in Aug. 2013.

Notably, the LDK restructuring sets a precedent for the cross-border restructuring of Chinese entities with financing arrangements in the international capital markets. The notes and other claims against LDK Solar’s subsidiaries, amounting to over US$700m, were restructured using parallel schemes of arrangement in the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong, together with Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 proceedings in the U.S. to ensure international recognition of the restructuring in the jurisdictions where LDK’s creditors were located. The Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 proceedings were approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Nov. 21, 2014, following earlier approval of the schemes of arrangement from the High Court of Hong Kong and the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands.

The firm’s work on behalf of a Blackstone-led buyer group consortium in the going-private transaction of China-based Pactera Technology International Ltd. was also recognized as a “High Yield Deal of the Year” finalist. The buyer consortium was led by an affiliate of funds managed or advised by Blackstone and joined by several senior management members of Pactera.