Chika Chimezie is an associate in Ropes & Gray's finance group. She is based in the firm’s New York office and represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in a variety of complex financing transactions including acquisition finance, debt finance and syndicated credit facilities.

Prior to law school, Chika worked as a strategic sourcing agent at the Boeing Company, where she negotiated multi-million-dollar contracts and managed relationships with various international suppliers including Microsoft, GE and SolarWinds. As a law student, Chika worked as a student attorney at the Vanderbilt Law School Community Enterprise Clinic and was a part of a small group of students who oversaw management of the school’s Hyatt Fund, a fund dedicated to bringing high profile speakers to address current legal issues to the student body. Chika has an MBA in finance from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management and worked as a finance associate at another global law firm prior to joining Ropes & Gray. 

Experience

  • Represented GoodSprings in a financing transaction in connection with its acquisition of Tectonic Engineering. 
  • Represented Charlesbank as sponsor in a refinance for a debt facility for its portfolio company.
  • Represented Aquiline Capital Partners LP in a financing transaction for an acquisition by its portfolio company. 

Select experience prior to joining Ropes & Gray: 

  • Represented an Israeli based global advertising company and its international subsidiaries, as borrowers, in an acquisition financing. 
  • Represented IMB Partners, a New York based middle market private investment firm, as borrower, in its strategic investment in government contractor, eTelligent Group. 
  • Represented Norddeutsche Landesbank, a German based bank, in a financing transaction to a major international airline. 
  • Represented Credit Suisse, now UBS, as lender in a $3B financing to a major European airline and its lessees.  
  • Represented Emcore Corporation, a leading provider of inertial navigation productions in the aerospace and defense industries, in connection with financing for its acquisition of a competitor. 

Areas of Practice