Overview
PARIS (8 April 2014) — The Paris office of international law firm McDermott Will & Emery has advised Lone Star Real Estate Fund III (“Lone Star”) in its indirect acquisition of the property complex Cœur Défense (France).
On 7 March, Lone Star’s subsidiary LSREF3 Heart LP Sarl acquired LB Dame SCA & Partners, the parent company of Dame Luxembourg Sarl (”Dame”), itself the holding company of Heart of La Défense (“HoLD”), the owner of the Cœur Défense asset. On March 28, LSREF3 Heart then arranged for the early repayment of all Dame and HoLD’s creditors, in particular French securitization vehicle, Windermere XII, after having repurchased all junior classes of bondholders. This repayment allowed both Dame and HoLD to achieve the full performance of their safeguard plans within the most total consensus. The Paris Commercial Court rendered its closing judgment on April 7, 2014.
The McDermott team, led by Antony Martinez, thus allows Lone Star to complete the acquisition of the largest single office complex in Europe consisting of five towers amounting to 180,000 square meters, the true emblem of the business quarter of La Défense. Other members of the McDermott team included Bertrand Delafaye, Kamal Naffi, Noémie Fort, Antoine Vergnat and Jules Bourboulon.
“This is certainly the most resounding exit from a safeguard proceeding since the landmark case Eurotunnel back in 2007, in addition to being one of the most significant acquisitions of its last ten years on the commercial real estate market,” Mr. Martinez said. “Such a consensus between debtor and creditors, at the very least unexpected in this complex matter, has also been made possible by an outstanding cooperation among all actors and legal advisors, under the watchful eye of the two very active court appointed officers to the benefit of the achievement of the plans,” he continued.
The transaction amounts to circa €1.300m.
About McDermott Will & Emery
McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with a diversified business practice. Numbering more than 1,100 lawyers, the firm has offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C and a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai. To serve the broad range of interests of international clients that do business in France, McDermott’s Paris office focuses on cross-border transactions, advising clients across its core practices including as M&A, tax, antitrust, public/regulatory law, employment law, litigation and international arbitration.
