White & Case Advises Swissport on Comprehensive Financial Restructuring and Recapitalisation

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Swissport on its restructuring and recapitalisation.

"Our cross-practice deal team has advised Swissport on a transaction that resets the group's balance sheet and brings in additional investment and support from a new ownership group of global financial investors," said White & Case partner Thomas Lauria, Global Head of the Global Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice, who led the Firm's deal team. 

Swissport’s financial restructuring is effective from December 21, 2020 and, as part of a debt-for-equity swap, ownership of the group has been transferred to a group of global financial investors. The debt-for-equity swap was facilitated by an English law scheme of arrangement and a pre-packaged sale of the Swissport business out of an English administration. This follows Swissport’s initial scheme of arrangement earlier this year that enabled the borrowing of a €300 million super senior interim facility. Each of the schemes were supported by a chapter 15 recognition order from the US Bankruptcy Court.

The restructuring provides Swissport with a delevered and strengthened balance sheet by addressing around €1.9 billion of existing debt, and leaves the business with improved liquidity with which to withstand the ongoing challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Swissport is the world's leading provider of airport ground services and air cargo handling. It employed around 65,000 people pre-crisis and is active at 298 airports in 47 countries on six continents.

The White & Case team that advised on the restructuring was led by partners Thomas Lauria (New York & Miami), Ben Davies, Christian Pilkington (both London), Will Guerrieri (Chicago) and Francis Zou (New York), and included partners Charles Balmain, Martin Forbes, Marc Israel, Peita Menon, Caroline Sherrell, Gilles Teerlinck (all London), Phil Abelson, David Johansen, Eric Leicht, Daniel Nam, Chris Shore, Justin Wagstaff (all New York), Richard Kebrdle, Michael Shepherd (both Miami), Richard Burke and Farhad Jalinous (both Washington, DC). The team also included counsel and associates Morvyn Radlow, Nicola Chapman, Anna Soroka, Paul Harrington, Victoria Burton, Joe Bradley, Adhuv Prinja, Man Hay Yip, Sophie Riley, Kelly Trueman, Clara Davies, Marissa Florio, Oji Adoh, Morgan Smith, Callie Wallace, Liz Blum, Katherine Daley, Charlie Draper, Kate Kelliher (all London), Richard Graham, Michele Meises, Kerrick Seay, John Ramirez, Sam Hershey, Demian von Poelnitz, Brett Bakemeyer, Kathryn Sutherland-Smith, Leia Andrew, Joe Babitz, Christine DeVito, Fangzhou Ying, Alice Hong and M.K. Kang (all New York), Nicole Rodger, Doah Kim, Ali Lattner (all Los Angeles), Clay Roberts, Cecilia Walker and Tuvia Sandler (all Miami). Other lawyers from the White & Case offices in Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Helsinki, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Milan, Paris, Sydney and Tokyo also advised on the restructuring.

Press contact
For more information please speak to your local media contact.