Shearman & Sterling has acted as US, English, German and French counsel to Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and HSBC, as initial purchasers in connection with R&R Ice Cream plc’s €350 million senior secured bond offering. Shearman & Sterling also acted as US, English, German and French counsel to Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and HSBC, as mandated lead arrangers and lenders in connection with R&R Ice Cream plc’s €60 super senior revolving credit facility. The transactions closed on November 5.
Part of the proceeds of the senior secured bond offering were used to refinance the acquisition bridge facility provided by Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse as mandated lead arrangers and lenders for the acquisition of Rolland SAS in July 2010, on which Shearman & Sterling also represented Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse.
R&R Ice Cream plc is the third largest ice cream manufacturer in Europe, with leading market shares in each of the UK, German and French ice cream markets.
The complex transaction involved the senior secured high yield bond offering and the super senior revolving credit facility, both secured by assets of R&R and some of its subsidiaries across multiple jurisdictions.
The Shearman & Sterling team of lawyers in the firm’s London, Frankfurt, Paris and New York offices was led by partner Jacques McChesney (in relation to the senior secured bond offering) and Caroline Leeds Ruby (in relation to the super senior revolving credit facility and the Rolland acquisition bridge). They were assisted by partner Katja Kaulamo, Esther Jansen and Pierre-Nicolas Ferrand, counsels Robert Ferguson, Mehran Massih and Aline Cardin, and associates David Plattner, Jennifer Ng, Severine de la Courtie and Peter Breschendorf, Sebastian Cohnen, Marsili Hale, Jeremy Philpott, Vieri Parigi, Matthias Laier, Odilo Wallner, Philippe Wolanski and Alexae Fournier, and trainees Josephine Du Sauzay, Karen McCormack and Kate Kimpton. Tax advice was provided by partners Bernie Pistillo, Iain Scoon, Johannes Frey, Niels Dejean, counsel Bodo Bender, and associates Derek Kershaw, James Leslie, Norbert Mückl and Anne-Sophie Maes.
