July 15, 2021
Willkie represented Searchlight Capital Partners on the recapitalization of Latécoère, a major player in the aeronautics industry.
Willkie advised Searchlight Capital Partners as major shareholder of Latécoère, a tier 1 partner to major international aircraft manufacturers, on the negotiations and the signing of a conciliation protocol between Latécoère, its present and future financial creditors, and Searchlight. The Commercial Court of Toulouse approved this agreement by judgment dated July 7, 2021, closing the conciliation procedure, which opened on May 11, 2021.
This protocol concludes the discussions relating to a comprehensive recapitalization of the Group under the aegis of the Comité Interministériel de Restructuration Industrielle (CIRI).
Under the terms of the protocol, Latécoère’s has undertaken to carry out a capital increase, with preferential subscription rights, for a minimum amount of €162.5 million. It also provides for the obtaining by the company of Prêt Garanti par l’Etat (PGE) for a principal amount of €130 million, the rescheduling of the existing PGE repayment calendars, and the deferral of the maturity of the loans contracted with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to 2027.
Further to this agreement, on July 14 Latécoère announced the launch of the share capital increase with shareholders’ preferential subscription rights for an amount of approximately €193.4 million, which may be increased to approximately €222.4 million in the event of the exercise in full of the extension clause.
The Willkie team was led by partner Lionel Spizzichino and included special European counsel Audrey Nelson on the restructuring aspects as well as special European counsel Charles-Antoine Erignac on the regulatory aspects of the matter.
