Legal 500 USA 2022"Fred Fisher is my go to partner at Mayer Brown. He understands and coordinates the proper deal staffing depending on the size, ownership type, industry, and asset type."
"Fred is laser focused on the big picture and process and trusts his team to manage the details."
Overview
Frederick C. Fisher is a partner in Mayer Brown's Chicago office and is co-leader of the global Lending group. Fred focuses his diverse finance practice on the representation of corporate and lending clients—including banks, private credit funds, private equity funds, and public and private corporations—in connection with complex domestic and international financing transactions at all levels of the capital structure. His representations include leveraged buyouts, working capital financings, dividend recaps, cash flow and asset-based financings, add-on acquisitions, cross-border and multi-currency financings, fund level leverage facilities, ESOPs and numerous in- and out-of-court workouts and restructurings.
As noted in Legal 500 USA 2022 clients say “Fred Fisher and the team have been a tremendous partnership for me and my client relationships. They are extremely knowledgeable, provide great work with an extremely quick turnaround. Mayer Brown is exceptional at managing a process and marching toward a timeline. When a legal issue is presented to me, they will have two or three suggestions for how best to move forward, reducing considerable stress in the closing process. From sole bank deals to large syndications, they have the skillset to understand the various markets we compete within.”
Fred is also actively involved in charitable organizations in the Chicago area, including serving as a board member of the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, which seeks to give high school scholarship assistance and educational support to Chicago students from under-resourced neighborhoods.
Areas of Focus
Experience
- Southwire on $1 billion sustainability-linked asset based loan facility.
- Major financial institution, as administrative agent, in connection with a senior syndicated five-year unsecured $500 million revolving credit facility with Skechers USA, Inc., a global footwear leader, which credit facility includes an accordion feature for up to an additional $250 million.
- JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent and joint lead arranger, and other lenders in connection with a multicurrency, five-year $150 million revolving credit facility with Beyond Meat, Inc., a plant-based meat producer. The revolving credit facility includes an accordion feature for up to an additional $200 million.
- Revolving and term loan facility to a family of companies comprising a major national moving and storage business to fund a 100% ESOP buyout.
- $195 million first and second lien credit facility to a global wine producer.
- $500 million loan facility to a global producer of paper related products used to refinance existing indebtedness and for the acquisition of a filtration company.
- Last out lender in a unitranche asset-based credit facility to finance a private equity backed acquisition of a multi-unit franchise.
- Asset-based facility for Dura Automotive.
- $160 million loan facility to finance the strategic acquisition of an animal feed company and refinance existing indebtedness.
- Loan facility to finance a private equity backed acquisition of a bulk material handling & industrial sampling manufacturer.
- Loan facility to finance a private equity backed acquisition of an information technology consulting firm.
- Unitranche asset-based credit facility to a global print and online media company and its subsidiaries.
- $1.2 billion bank and bond financing of cross-border take-private of Linens ‘N Things.
- Acquisition financing for an approximately $240 million roll-up of multiple water and family fun parks located throughout the United States.
- Acquisition financing for a strategic purchase of a large paper mill from Kraft Paper Corporation.
- Acquisition financing for an international restaurant franchisee (including Sizzler restaurant chain) in the United States, Australia and Canada.
- Acquisition financing for a large franchisee of Wendy’s fast food restaurant chains located throughout the Midwest.
- Acquisition and start-up facility for a Florida-based private equity fund used to acquire small-cap regional service and manufacturing companies in the Southeastern United States.
- Acquisition financing for a large chemical company’s purchase of various mineral producers in the Southeastern United States.
- Acquisition financing for the take-private of America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses and National Vision (a national retailer of custom eyeglasses and contact lenses).
- Acquisition financing for a Canadian private equity fund’s purchase of a U.S. manufacturer/importer of traffic technology and camera systems used by state and local municipalities.
- Acquisition financing for an Australian private equity fund’s purchase of a global producer of malt and similar products (including facilities and collateral located in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada).
- Acquisition financing for a provider of elderly and disabled home health care services in the Southwestern United States.
- Various asset-based working capital loan facilities for large U.S. steel producers.
- Asset-based working capital loan facility for a large importer of women’s clothing and related products.
- Credit facility and workout of a complex loan to a start-up Southern California acute care hospital and affiliated entities.
- Out-of-court workout and recapitalization for a mid-cap company providing medical helicopter and single wing rescue flight operations in the Southwestern and Midwestern states.
Represented various companies and private equity funds including the following:
- General Motors on its unsecured credit facilities totally approximately $17 billion in commitments.
- Equity One (NYSE: EQY) in revolving and term debt facilities aggregating in excess of $1 billion.
- Buyer in a leveraged acquisition financing of a market leading real estate financial services firm with multi-billion dollars under management (including an asset servicing and construction loan administration platform).
- Hard Rock International, which operates over 175 Hard Rock locations, including restaurants, hotels, casinos, and live music venues, in 55 countries, in a $640 million financing comprised of a $290 million Senior Secured Term B Loan and $350 million Senior Notes.
- Private equity fund and its portfolio company, a system of anesthesiology practices, in connection with a year-end dividend recapitalization and an increase to their revolving and term loan facilities.
- Private equity fund in the leverage backed acquisition of a major donut shop franchisee and its term and revolving credit facilities.
- Multi-unit restaurant chain and chain of related shops and ventures located in US, Mexico, Jamaica, and the Caribbean in a $200 million financing.
- Illinois state-licensed Video Gaming Terminal Operator as borrower in connection with a term loan facility secured by all assets, including Video Gaming Terminals.
- Special purpose acquisition company in an acquisition financing of a global specialty chemicals and technical services company which was comprised of a secured multicurrency revolving loan commitment and a $755 million term loan.
- Private equity firm in negotiating a loan facility to purchase a national provider of home intravenous solutions and intrathecal pump medication compounding.
- National debt collection firm in negotiating its syndication loan facility.
- Tier one auto supplier in the construction of a manufacturing facility in Mexico.
- Large international chemical company in a multinational asset-based loan facility with assets in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands (and various other European jurisdictions), Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong.
- Large international specialty pump and equipment manufacturer in various revolving and term loan facilities.
- Natural gas utility company in various revolving and term loan facilities.
- Private equity fund in the acquisition and financing of a leading multinational provider to numerous financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies of security information services. Representations included the negotiation of various local law agreements in the United Kingdom, Poland, India, Hong Kong, Panama and other jurisdictions.
- IT waste disposal company in the negotiation and revision of its credit facilities and certain other workout matters.
- Large Dubai investment fund as U.S. local counsel in the potential acquisition of exclusive dealership arrangement for sales in the Middle East of U.S. manufactured corporate jets.
- Strategic hedge fund investor in the acquisition of a controlling position in a provider of disease management support services for chronically ill patients and physicians and subsequent capital infusions.
- Private holding company in capital infusion and subsequent workout of one of its portfolio companies involved in the manufacture of recycled composite rail-road ties and other similar products.
- Private equity fund in workout, restructuring and potential acquisition of a large-scale “green” production facility of glass wine bottles.
Perspectives
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August 292023
Events
News
Education
Northwestern University School of Law, JD
Miami University, BS
Admissions
- Illinois
Activities
- Member, Chicago Bar Association
- Board Member, Open Books
- Listed, Chambers USA 2013-2021
- Listed, Emerging Lawyer, Leading Lawyers Network, 2015
- Member, Winning Team, "M&A Deal of the Year (Over $1 Billion to $5 Billion)" for Platform Specialty Products Corporation (f/k/a Platform Acquisition Holdings Limited) acquisition of MacDermid, Incorporated and related entities, The M&A Advisor’s 6th Annual International M&A Awards, 2014
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Illinois Super Lawyers "Rising Star," 2012-2015
- Team Member, Corporate Board Member magazine and FTI Consulting Inc., one of "America’s Best Corporate Law Firms," 13th Annual Legal Industry Study, 2013
- Member, Winning Team, "Private Equity Turnaround of the Year" for the Chapter 11 reorganization and acquisition of American Laser Skincare LLC, Global M&A Network’s Turnaround Atlas Award, 2012