Europe

.... Finance partner, Jonathan Caulton, moved to our London office in September 2011. Jonathan has extensive experience in international capital markets, structured finance (including structured fund products, derivatives, repackagings and CLOs/CDOs), banking and fund financing. Jonathan also has considerable expertise in all aspects of establishing and maintaining closed and open ended hedge funds and private equity funds in the form of corporate entities, limited partnerships, unit trusts and segregated portfolio companies and also advises on general corporate and commercial law.

He joined Maples and Calder in 2004 and was made partner in 2007. He previously worked for Allen & Overy in London and Hong Kong.

…with the addition of senior associate Joanna Dinning to the team. Joanna deals with a wide variety of corporate and commercial law including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate, banking and finance transactions.

Joanna joined Maples and Calder in 2006 and has worked in both our British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands offices prior to moving to London. She has experience across abroad spectrum of structured finance and asset financing transactions, including aircraft and yacht financings as well as advising on establishing and administering offshore investment vehicles.

Chris McKenzie, head of the British Virgin Islands practice group in London, commented: "We are delighted that Jo has joined our team here in London. She is a first class lawyer with particularly relevant experience and will make a valuable and timely addition to our growing practice here in London."

The Dublin office continues with impressive growth as Stephen Carty joins as a Partner in the Investment Funds teams.  Stephen's primary areas of expertise are asset management and investment funds. He advises clients on the establishment and operation of investment funds.

Stephen joined Maples in 2010 from a large Irish corporate law firm, where he was partner and head of investment funds. He was also previously a partner in another leading Irish law firm, during which time he spent a period managing the firm's Tokyo office, with responsibility for Asia. Stephen has also worked for Sidley Austin, New York, and in Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Australia.

Maples have been the leading success story in the Irish market in recent years, significantly increasing their market share in the Investment Funds arena over the past two years. 

Maples are now ranked second amongst all Irish legal advisers, progressing from a previous ranking of seventh in 2008, in terms of funds advised on (both domiciled and non-domiciled).  This represents almost a 370% growth in market share over this period.

Within the last year alone Maples have more than doubled the number of domiciled funds on which the firm advises (a 111% increase).  The market share rankings, as at June 2010, are independently compiled and verified by Lipper, a global leader in fund information and analysis, and a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.

... fashion retailer A-Wear. Maples' Dublin office acted as counsel for Hilco during their restructuring and subsequent sale of the A-Wear Group, the nationwide fashion chain with over 40 stores and concessions and 450 staff in Ireland.

Nollaig Murphy, Head of Finance at Maples Dublin, said "It was highly rewarding to have been involved in such an innovative transaction from the original acquisition, through effecting significant restructuring changes, to the ultimate sale of the A-Wear Group." Maples drew on a broad range of expertise to support the multidisciplinary restructuring, requiring banking, corporate and insolvency specialists working across teams advising the lender and lender-appointed receiver.

Larry Howard, CEO Hilco Capital Ireland Limited., commented: "Maples Dublin have acted for us on this matter from acquisition to disposal, and were the ideal partners for innovative legal structuring needed by us to achieve our restructuring goals in Ireland."

Maples acted for Cerasus II, the acquisition vehicle of Spectrum Equity Investors, on the US129.4m (€93 million) take private of the NASDAQ listed Trintech Group. This transaction was one of only a small number of take privates in the Irish market in 2010.

Edward Miller, Partner and head of the Corporate Group at Maples' Dublin office, said, “We are pleased to serve as legal adviser to Cerasus a subsidiary of Spectrum which demonstrates our firm’s credentials within this sector.”

Maples advised aircraft leasing group Avolon on its initial capital raise of US$1.4 billion. The capital raised includes (i) an equity commitment of US$750 million from three of the world’s leading private equity firms, Cinven, CVC and Oak Hill Capital, in one of the most significant capital raises ever within the Irish market and (ii) a US$400 million warehouse facility, the first facility of its type completed since 2007. 

This transaction was one of the most significant equity capital raises ever in the Irish market. This deal was recently awarded 2011 'IFSC Deal of the Year' by Finance Dublin and the warehouse financing facility was awarded 2010 'European Deal of the Year' by the Airfinance Journal.