b'Areas of focusLate Stage InvestmentsPrivate Placements & PIPEsWe regularly counsel companies, placement agents, privateWe count among our capital markets lawyers innovators in investors and strategic investors in connection with mezzaninethe private placement and private investment in public equity, or late stage private placements. Given changes in financingor PIPE, market. Our lawyers regularly advise issuers, agents dynamics and the availability of private capital sources, manyand investors in connection with private placements of equity, of the most promising growth companies are choosing toequity-linked and debt securities. Private placements may be remain private longer and defer IPOs. For some companies,the first stop for a venture capital or entrepreneurial client, these transactions may provide substantial capital and allowor an alternative for a well-established issuer needing to them to remain privately held. For others, a late stage privateraise capital when the public equity markets are unavailable. placement may be a stepping stone on the road to an eventualMayerBrowns diverse practice, which attracts a high volume IPO or an M&A exit. We counsel our issuer and financialof both equity and debt work, routinely advises issuers and intermediary clients in these transactions, which often requireunderwriters on public and private offerings, writes The addressing the rights of various series of existing stockholders.Legal 500 US. Chambers Latin America noted that we have a We also assist companies undertaking private tender offerssignificant track record representing private companies to provide liquidity opportunities for early investors andin debt offerings with restricted placement efforts. For employees, or to facilitate liquidity opportunities for theseour public company clients, a private placement, or PIPE holders by bringing in new institutional and cross-overtransaction, may be an alternative when the public markets fund investors. are unavailable or in order to finance an acquisition, effect a change of control or a recapitalization transaction, or place securities with a strategic investor. Regional banks, REITs, life sciences and technology-based companies all have used PIPEs New Financial Products to raise capital in tough markets.Our lawyers are known for their creative solutions. As a result, we often are asked to assist our financial services clients in their product development efforts. A financial instrument orStructured Financefinancing or hedging strategy or a risk transfer transaction may be intended to address a tax, accounting, regulatory capitalMayer Brown is one of a handful of firms that provides true or other concern. In formulating solutions, we work closelydepth and quality of service to clients in structured finance with our financial products tax colleagues in order to developtransactions across the Americas, Asia and Europe. Our innovative approaches. The Legal 500 US write that we arestructured finance practice has long been at the cutting edge a creative and pragmatic team, which is well known forof legal developments and has been one of the largest and its expertise in complex derivatives-based products and itsmost active. Our team of lawyers has securitized nearly every excellent regulatory knowledge. conceivable asset type. When combined with our experience in the conduit, CDO, derivative and synthetic markets, we On behalf of our clients, we have advised on the developmentoffer experienced teams with the intellectual depth and of structured convertible securities; contingent capitalindustry insight needed to assist clients as they explore and products; exchangeable and variable debt and preferredmaximize both current and developing market opportunities. stock instruments; additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 instrumentsMayer Brown continues to be at the top of the league tables to be offered by US and non-US banks; and structuredfor both arrangers and issuers counsel. We have also been notes, warrants, annuities and other indexed securitiesnamed Securitization Law Firm of the Year by GlobalCapital and derivatives. and Structured Finance Team of the Year by the IFLR Americas Awards. Chambers USA calls us an [i]mpressive team with a deep bench of lawyers advising across the full range of securitization transactions We have been the dominant law firm in all of the consumer asset classes, particularly auto and credit card ABS. We also have one of the largest asset-backed commercial paper practices in the world. A market commentator told Chambers USA that we have really wide expertise and [were] one of the better firms from an attention to detail standpoint.Mayer Brown | Capital Markets'