Posted on: 8 September 2016
International law firm Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is advising KKR Credit in relation to its agreement by which, subject to completion of certain conditions precedents, KKR Credit, together with a sovereign wealth fund (the “Investors”), will acquire a portfolio of performing and non-performing shipping loans originated by NORD/LB with an initial total volume of about US$1.5 billion including up to 100 ships, and create a shipping portfolio management company, designed to be open for use by third party banks for their portfolio management.
The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter, 2016 and is expected to be structured as a securitisation with NORD/LB and the investors both acting as initial investors therein.
KKR Credit is part of KKR & Co. L.P. (formerly Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.), a leading global investment firm.
Hanover-headquartered Nord/LB is is a German Landesbank and one of the largest commercial banks in Germany. It is a public corporation owned by the federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
The WFW Hamburg team advising KKR was led by banking and finance partner Dr Clemens Hillmer, working closely with his fellow partner in Frankfurt, Sebastian Wulff. They were assisted by associates Tobias Weise, Yilmaz Ata and Christopher Wagner.
