Vladimir Nicenko

Vlad has advised insurers and reinsurers on some of the most innovative and prominent transactions in the market, including:  

• Prudential on its reinsurance of a $8.1 billion longevity transaction with Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund
• Prudential Financial in a $27.7 billion longevity risk transfer transaction with British Telecom, the largest longevity transaction on record
• Sun Life Financial in a C$5 billion longevity insurance transaction with Bell Canada, the first-ever North American longevity risk transfer
• MetLife, Inc. in a $3 billion public offering of common stock, and the concurrent offerings by American International Group, Inc. of $3.4 billion of MetLife’s common stock and $3.3 billion of the company’s common equity units
• Prudential on its quota share reinsurance of a ₤3.4 billion longevity transaction with MMC (Marsh & McLennan Companies) pension fund (using a Guernsey incorporated cell company established to intermediate the transfer of risk to the reinsurance market)
• The Allstate Corporation in $5.3 billion waterfall tenders and offerings of perpetual preferred stock, depositary shares, hybrid securities and senior notes
• Genworth Financial in the structuring and execution of the first-ever $300 million securitization of Regulation XXX reserves through River Lake Insurance Company I
• Prudential in the structuring and execution of an interposed longevity risk transfer structure with Deutsche Bank covering over $750 million of pension liabilities of the Rolls-Royce Pension Fund
• SCOR SE in its first-ever $180 million offering of extreme mortality bonds
• MetLife, Inc. in the first-ever $750 million offering of X-SURPS (exchangeable surplus securities)
• Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. in its $850 million securitization of XXX reserves through Timberlake Financial L.L.C.

In addition, Vlad has advised on the following transactions:

Longevity and Pension Risk Transfers

• Prudential in longevity transactions with Legal & General plc covering more than $5 billion of pension liabilities of certain U.K. defined benefit plans
• Prudential in the sale of a buy-out group annuity contract to the Verizon Management Pension Plan covering approximately $7.5 billion of the Plan’s pension liabilities to approximately 41,000 Plan beneficiaries
• Prudential in the issuance and sale of a $3 billion buy-out contract to a Motorola Solutions retirement plan covering approximately 30,000 Motorola retirees
• Prudential in longevity transactions with Pension Insurance Corporation covering more than $3 billion of pension liabilities
• Prudential in the sale of a buy-out group annuity contract to Kimberly-Clark Corporation structured to reduce Kimberly-Clark’s pension liabilities by more than $1 billion
• Prudential in the sale of a group annuity contract to Philips Electronics North America Corporation as part of a transaction structured to reduce Philips’ pension obligations by approximately $1.1 billion
• Prudential in longevity risk transfer transactions with Rothesay Life Limited covering more than $3 billion pension liabilities of certain U.K. defined benefit plans, including British Airways
• Prudential in a $1.4 billion pension risk transfer with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
• Prudential in a pension risk transfer transaction with J.C. Penney Company structured to cover between 25% and 35% of J.C. Penney’s pension liabilities
• Prudential in the sale of a $600 million pension buy-out group annuity contract to The Timken Company

Structured Finance

• Allstate Life Insurance Company in SEC-registered offerings of $4.8 billion of asset-backed notes
• Jackson National in private placements of senior secured notes totaling more than $5.1 billion
• Sun Life Financial in a $750 million “reverse hybrid” transaction
• AXIS Specialty Limited and its affiliates in a $200 million aggregate principal amount of principal-at-risk notes through Northshore Re Limited
• MetLife and its affiliates in private placements of $1.5 billion of secured notes guaranteed by Farmer Mac
• The Prudential Insurance Company of America in offerings of more than $7 billion of senior secured notes
• Swiss Re Capital Markets as the sole book-runner and structuring agent in Argo Group’s $172 million offering of catastrophe bonds through Loma Reinsurance (Bermuda) Ltd.
• The underwriters in Genworth Life & Annuity’s offerings of $1.7 billion of SEC-registered asset-backed notes
• Amlin plc in a $75 million offering of catastrophe bonds through Tramline Re II Ltd.
• The initial purchasers in Assurant Inc’s $185 million offering of principal-at-risk notes through Ibis Re II Ltd.
• The Initial Purchasers in QBE Insurance Group’s offering of $250 million of catastrophe bonds through VenTerra Re, Ltd.
• New York Life in private placements of $4.2 billion of senior secured notes
• MetLife, Inc. and its affiliates in connection with an asset-backed commercial paper program
• ACA Capital as obligor and financial guarantor in a $100 million offering of floating rate securities through ACA Premium Asset Trust
• MetLife, Inc. in its $700 million offering of X-SURPS (exchangeable surplus notes)
• Scottish Re as obligor in a $200 million offering of fixed rate securities through a trust
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in offerings of senior secured notes aggregating more than $14.5 billion
• ING Security Life in offerings of $2.4 billion of asset-backed notes
• Mutual of Omaha in connection with the restructuring of a captive reinsurance agreement related to its XXX securitization of non-economic reserves

Restructuring Transactions

• ACA Capital Holdings in its global settlement and restructuring transactions concerning obligations under $100 million of the Premium Asset Trust Certificates, modification of the related ACA financial guaranty, insurance policy and CDS credit covenant trigger under ISDA’s 2005 monoline supplement
• A leading Japanese life insurer in connection with a proposed minority rescue investment in a U.S. life insurance company
• Radian Group as swap counterparty and financial guarantor in connection with a $980 million ABCP program of Ajax Bambino Funding Ltd sponsored and managed by ING Capital and the related hedging instruments and financial guaranty insurance policy

• The Allstate Corporation in its offering of $287.5 million of perpetual preferred stock
• The underwriters in the $370 million initial public offering of Bristol West, a KKR portfolio company
• The underwriters in a $166.5 million initial public offering of common stock by Direct General Corporation and selling shareholders and a $130 million follow-on offering by selling shareholders
• Tower Group in a Section “4(1½)” $225 million private placement of common shares of Canopius Bermuda Holdings Ltd.
• The underwriters in connection with Radian Group, Inc.’s offerings of $550 million of common stock
• The underwriters in a public offering in the US and Canada by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited of approximately $1 billion of subordinate voting shares
• The underwriters in a $92 million initial public offering of James River Group, Inc.
• The underwriters in a $295 million offering of common stock of Max Re Capital Ltd.
• The underwriters in connection with a registered offering by Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd. of $230 million of 7.50% Non-Cumulative Preferred Shares
• The underwriters in a $194 million initial public offering of common stock by American Equity Investment Life Holding Company
• CastlePoint Insurance Company in a convertible share investment in Cinium Financial Services Corporation

• The Allstate Corporation in its offering of $1 billion of Basket D junior subordinated debentures
• MetLife, Inc. in the remarketing of $1 billion of senior notes and settlement of stock purchase contracts under its common equity units
• The underwriters in the remarketing of $172.5 million of Assured Guaranty Ltd’s senior notes and settlement of 3,450,000 of its Equity Units
• Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in its $1.25 billion offering of Basket D junior subordinated debentures
• MetLife, Inc. in its $500 million offering of junior subordinated debentures
• The Allstate Corporation in its $500 million offering of junior subordinated debentures
• MetLife, Inc. in its $1.8 billion offering of common equity units
• MetLife, Inc. in its $1.25 billion offering of junior subordinated debentures

• Nationwide Mutual in a $400 million Rule 144A offering of surplus notes
• AXIS Specialty Ltd. in connection with its participation in a surplus note facility of Farmers Insurance
• Pan American Life Insurance Company in a $50 million private placement of surplus notes
• The underwriters in a Rule 144A offering of $250 million of surplus notes by Ohio National Life Insurance Company
• Nationwide in a $400 million contingent surplus note facility backed by proceeds from the issuance of CSN pass-through securities through North Front Pass-Through Trust

• MetLife, Inc. in its public offering of $3 billion of senior notes
• The Allstate Corporation in an SEC-registered offering of $1 billion of senior notes
• CNO Financial Group, Inc. in its public offering of $275 million of secured high yield notes
• Telefonica S.A. in a $5.25 billion SEC-registered offering of senior notes in connection with its acquisition of O2 plc
• The underwriters in connection with Radian Group, Inc.’s offering $450 million of convertible notes
• Delphi Financial in a private placement of floating rate capital securities
• The underwriters in a €125 million Rule 144A offering of high yield notes by BROKAT AG and the subsequent A/B exchange offer
• The underwriters in a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering by Ohio National Financial Services, Inc. of $250 million of senior notes
• Scottish Re and its affiliates in several private placements of capital securities
• The underwriters in a $400 million public offering of high yield notes by Conseco Inc. (CNO Financial)
• Republic Companies Inc. in a private placement of capital securities

^{*Vlad advised on some of these matters at his prior firm.}