Italian Finance

Orrick's Italian Finance Department comprises a team of Italy qualified lawyers based in Rome, Milan and London who have the well proven experience to provide clients with a comprehensive range of domestic and international legal services required to complete sophisticated finance transactions. Orrick lawyers take the time to learn their clients' business and financial objectives and bring a valuable combination of legal knowledge and business know-how to solve complex challenges. We work together as strategic advisors to our clients in order to help them achieve their corporate and financial goals. In the competitive Italian marketplace for legal services, Orrick is distinguished by the commitment to provide consistently outstanding service to clients. (Please view a list of representative Italian Finance transactions.)

Practice Rankings

In the 2007 edition of Chambers and Partners' Europe Guide, the capabilities of Orrick's Italian Finance department in the "Debt Capital Markets: Securitisation" practice area received the following recognitions resulting from client research:

• The Firm: "The 'exemplary' practice at Orrick is based in Rome and Milan. The team benefits from its international network and, according to clients, has been picking up more and more business, producing excellent results. Sources describe the lawyers as 'possessing a high level of technical preparation. They are proactive and business-oriented, always keeping an eye on customer satisfaction.'"
• The Lawyers: "Interviewees consider Patrizio Messina, partner in Orrick's Rome and Milan offices and head of the Italian Finance practice (n.d.r.), to be 'one of the best in the business.' One client enthused: 'He has first-hand knowledge of all the major transactions and knows all the movers and shakers. As a client I always feel on top of things with him.' He is the partner in charge of the Rome office and advises on real estate, personal loans, and residential and commercial mortgage securitisations."

Key Practice Areas

Our Italian Finance Department is focused on advising clients in four primary areas:

• Leveraged Finance
• Debt Capital Markets
• Principal Finance
• Securitisation and Structured Finance

Leveraged Finance

Orrick's Italian Finance Department represents major commercial domestic and international banks, finance companies and institutional investors on all types of leveraged finance transactions, including bridge loans, medium and long term loans, syndicated and non-syndicated loans, multi-tranche borrowings, real estate loans, acquisition financings, capital lines, warehouse lending facilities and participations, credit enhancements and letters of credit. Our leveraged finance lawyers also draw upon an exceptionally deep background in lending and bank regulation.

Debt Capital Markets

Our Italian Finance team covers the entire spectrum of debt capital markets instruments, from traditional financings to structured finance, hedging and derivatives. Our lawyers represent corporate issuers, private equity funds and financial institutions in secured and unsecured debt transactions, both investment grade and high yield offerings, in the public and private markets. Our clients include financial institutions in their capacity as arrangers, underwriters, book-runners and investors, and companies in their capacity as issuers in connection with domestic and cross-border transactions.

Principal Finance

Orrick's Italian Finance lawyers have extensive experience advising domestic and international investment banks, commercial banks, lending banks and other financial intermediaries participating in innovative financing solutions for public and private businesses of all sizes. Orrick lawyers help to structure complex risk-financing transactions for equity and debt investors, mezzanine lenders, project developers, fund sponsors, asset traders and lease portfolio managers. We assist our clients as they deploy capital in sophisticated transactions with co-investors or in conjunction with a syndication.

Securitisation and Structured Finance

Orrick's Italian Finance lawyers have extensive experience in the field of securitization and are known as pioneering lawyers who have been active in the structured finance market long before the enactment of the Italian securitisation law in 1999. Orrick lawyers have structured many transactions that have established creative benchmarks in the Italian securitisation market, including first-of-their-kind transactions involving public entities (as originators or assigned debtors), funded and un-funded synthetic securitisations, and repackaging transactions involving asset backed securities, commercial and residential mortgage backed securities and collateralised debt obligations.