In Brief – February 2014

Mayer Brown is advising on the USD1.2bn restructuring and USD133m sale of ATP Oil & Gas UK to Alpha Petroleum, the UK subsidiary of private equity house Petroleum Equity. The firm has been advising the bankrupt US outfit ATP Corporation on Chapter 11 proceedings in the US since 2012. Mayer Brown won the ATP UK deal through its work in the US . It has proved a tricky sale as creditors are set to receive only a tenth of the amount they put in to the debt-laden company.

Dentons has advised French energy giant Total on becoming the first oil company to invest in Britain’s nascent shale sector. Environment partners Danielle Beggs and Sam Boileau led on the USD1.6m acquisition of a 40 per cent interest in two shale gas exploration licences in the UK, announced on Monday. The licences hand the company rights to explore an area of 240 km2 in the Gainsborough Trough area of the East Midlands.

Ashurst and Hogan Lovells have taken lead roles on Barclays’ innovative collaboration with alternative provider BlueBay Asset Management’s Direct Lending Fund. Ashurst finance partner Tim Rennie led the small team advising Barclays on the deal, with assistance from tax partner Paul Miller and finance and restructuring partner Dan Hamilton. The deal marks the first time that a bank has joined forces with one of the many alternative operators that have emerged in Europe since the onset of the financial crisis. Barclays and BlueBay’s London-based fund, a unit of Royal Bank of Canada, will offer medium-sized UK companies so-called ‘unitranche’ debt up to a value of £120m. It will involve combining capital from both Barclays and BlueBay to achieve a single term loan, at a single rate of interest, with common terms.