Gareth Eagles
Biography
Overview
Gareth Eagles is the Firm’s Head of Private Credit & Direct Lending and the leading private credit lawyer in the European market. He has been at the forefront of the market during its path to maturity, including working on some of the most high-profile leveraged buyouts of recent times. Gareth's private credit practice focuses on representing investors who take and hold risk. He has advised on all major types of private investments, including unitranche, senior, second-lien, mezzanine and PIK debt financings, as well as preferred equity, warrants and minority co-investments. He has also advised on the taking of control equity positions, and he is adept at fusing multiple strategies and structuring novel solutions in both performing and distressed situations, whether the assets are privately held or publicly listed.
In addition to private credit work, Gareth has represented arrangers and underwriters on some of the most significant syndicated financings in the market, and is equally at home in the large-cap and mid-market spaces. The only leading leverage lawyer to be dual-qualified in New York and England & Wales, Gareth also spent two years in White & Case's New York office, as well as six months in the Singapore office, and has acted on market-leading transactions in a broad variety of jurisdictions.
Gareth is recognised as a Leading Individual in Legal 500 UK 2024 and was included in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 in 2019.
Experience
While much of Gareth's work is highly confidential, a short list of example transactions includes representing:
- Advised a club of private credit funds on a senior secured financing for offer by ADIA, CVC Capital Partners and Nordic Capital to acquire leading UK financial services private investment provider Hargreaves Lansdown plc.
- Blackstone Credit, Sixth Street, Park Square Capital, SMBC and the other term financiers on CVC Capital Partners' acquisition of a majority interest in Sogelink Group, a leading European provider of software solutions for infrastructure, construction and property management professionals.
- Sixth Street on the financing for Thoma Bravo's acquisition of Hypergene, a Swedish Software as a Service company.
- The direct lenders on GTCR's acquisition of Once For All, an industry-leading supply chain and risk management software solutions for the construction sector.
- The lenders and equity co-investors on the combined debt and equity financing of a structured insurance demerger of Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited and the existing insurance companies, the Fidelis Insurance Group. The transaction creates a new Bermuda-based managing general underwriter, Fidelis MGU.
- Blackstone Credit on its three-tier financing package to support Advent International's approximately £4 billion acquisition of leading global technology and services innovator Cobham plc.
- Pemberton Capital Advisors, The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland on the financing of Advent International's acquisition of Vitaldent, one of the largest dental chains in Europe.
- Partners Group on the refinancing of the bridge loan used by Insight Partners (advised by Axis Arbour) to acquire Kabal Holdings Group, a leadin`g logistics software provider for oil and gas operators.
- Armira Investment Holding, a Germany-based investment holding, on the financing and M&A aspects of its acquisition of Factor Eleven, a leading German digital marketing software company.
- The existing lenders to TES Global on the bolt-on acquisitions of Teach Starter and The Safeguarding Company.
- Blackstone Credit on the financing of Advent International's £1 billion take-private acquisition of Laird PLC, which won the "Loans Deal of the Year" award at the 2019 IFLR European Awards, where the firm also won the awards for "Loans Team of the Year" and "Most Innovative US Law Firm in Europe".
- The arrangers, including Barclays and Jefferies, on Leonard Green's £420 million bridge to bond and super senior revolving facilities for the acquisition of PureGym.
- The arrangers, including Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Rabobank, ABN Amro and ING, in connection with their financing of the EUR1.212 billion take-private acquisition of Mediq N.V. by Advent International Corporation.
Co-author, "Credit bidding: law and practice," Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, May 2013
Co-author, "US v European loan terms: countdown to convergence," JIBFL, October 2011
Co-author, "Problems of interpretation in dealing with audit qualifications," JIBFL, May 2011
Sole author, "Perverse consequences? How the LMA Ancillary Facilities provisions distort pro rata sharing," JIBFL, March 2011
"Under the guidance of UK and US-qualified partner Gareth Eagles, the team has established a market-leading offering on the direct lending front for leading fund clients." Legal 500 UK 2024.
"Head of private credit and direct lending at the firm, Gareth Eagles is an expert in this area. He is well placed to advise on big-ticket acquisition financings." Chambers UK 2024.
"Gareth is an extremely well-rounded and commercially sound lawyer. He has wide industry knowledge and is very responsive. He is a pleasure to work with and he gets deals done." Chambers UK 2023.
