He is particularly well known for his real estate finance work, where he advises on all aspects of real estate related finance across all asset classes using various financing structures.

Usman also regularly advises on cross-border matters involving the Middle East and other emerging markets.

Client testimonials:

“Highly commercial and enjoyable to work with!” 

“Highly responsive and surprisingly relaxed, irrespective of time pressures”

“Willingness to provide holistic and unencumbered advice to build relationships”

“Commercial mindset and true problem solving mentality with respect to engineering creative solutions to complex situations”

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• Advised Partners Group on the financing of its acquisition of a 140,000sqm portfolio of 19 Finnish logistics assets from Mandatum Asset Management*
• Advised TPG Real Estate on the c.€300m senior and mezzanine financing of its Physicus (German and Dutch) life sciences platform, the senior portion of which was securitised in the Vita Scientia 2022-1 DAC offering*
• Advised a European investment fund on its first real estate financing transaction relating to the refinancing of its Dutch portfolio*
• Advised Starwood Capital Group on numerous of its financings including:*

– the refinancing of its €80m Irish portfolio;

– the refinancing of its £200m industrial properties portfolio located across the UK;

– its senior and mezzanine facilities to acquire a Finnish rental residential portfolio of approximately 2,200 units in partnership with Avara Oy from a consortium of Finnish vendors. The portfolio consists of 73 assets located in 15 cities, with 50% of the portfolio value in the Helsinki region;

– its circa. €200m acquisition financing of the Las Mercedes business park in Madrid, Spain;

– its €320m senior and mezzanine refinancing of its Spanish portfolio;

– its £250m refinancing of its hotel portfolio; and

– the financing aspects of its over US$1bn disposal of a portfolio of 14 UK hotels that form part of The Principal Hotel Company to Foncière des Régions

• Advised Crosstree Real Estate Partners on its £100m development finance facility for the redevelopment of Camden Town Hall*
• Advised on a joint venture between UK-based Benson Elliot and US-based Walton Street Capital on a pan-European €420m hotel portfolio acquisition financing*
• Advised Oaktree Capital in relation to an acquisition finance transaction acquiring commercial property across the UK*
• Advised Starwood Capital Group financing AJ Capital Partners‘ acquisition of the Macdonald Randolph Hotel in Oxford, England and the Macdonald Hotels & Resorts portfolio in St Andrews, Scotland*
• Advised Investec Bank plc on its development facility in relation to luxury residential accommodation in Leinster Square, London*
• Advised Aareal Bank AG on its £149m financing of Valesco and AIP Asset Management’s purchase of Cannon Bridge House, London*
• Advised Investec Bank plc on its £72m development facility to The LabTech Group to fund the mixed-use scheme located on Camley Street, King’s Cross, London*
• Advised Starwood European Finance Partners Limited on its €110m acquisition and redevelopment facilities relating to Ikos Andalusia, a 400-key, luxury seafront resort in Andalusia’s coastal area of Estepona, Spain with HFF Real Estate Limited on behalf of Ikos International as borrower, with Oaktree and Goldman Sachs as sponsors*
• Advised Starwood European Real Estate Finance on its €68.5m senior facility for the acquisition of various light industrial logistics parks across Europe by M7 Central European Real Estate Fund I*
• Advised Aareal Bank on its £109.5m facility for the acquisition of the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Tower Hill by Westmont*
• Advised Starwood Capital Group as lender on the financing of a tier one sponsor‘ circa US$3bn acquisition of a holiday park and hotel portfolio*
• Advised a major Chinese alternative asset management firm on a leverage finance transaction as borrower on a US$450m senior syndicated facility and US$400m junior syndicated facility*
• Advised arrangers, sponsors and underwriters, including CDH Investments, Credit Suisse AG, Elm Park Capital Management, RBC Capital Markets, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, THL Corporate Finance, and Wells Fargo, on various leveraged, acquisition, and secured lending financing matters*
• Advised RBC Capital Markets on its US$525m facility for the acquisition of the entertainment division of Iconix Brand Group, Inc. by DHX Media*
• Advised a US hedge fund as lender on its first loan origination in Europe*
• Advised Dubai Islamic Bank as lender on a AED1.5bn Shariah-compliant facility to a Dubai government-related entity*
• Advised Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank as lender on a AED216m hybrid bond/facility Islamic financing*
• Advised The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector as arranger on sukuk issuances for the governments of Ivory Coast (Phase II) and the Togolese Republic*
• Advised an Emirati bank as lender on a $200m murabaha sovereign financing*
• Advised ICD-Brookfield in relation to a AED1.5bn mixed conventional and Shariah compliant financing relating to the construction of a Tier 1 business and leisure complex in the heart of the Dubai International Financial Centre.
• Advised Aareal Bank as lender in relation to a Shariah compliant facility for the acquisition of a pan-European commercial property portfolio*
• Advised various financial institutions, including Barclays Bank Plc, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., Starwood Capital Group and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., London Branch, on repo loan and loan-on-loan transactions*

*Matter handled prior to joining the firm.

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The co-head of McDermott’s accounting defense practice, Ron provides a full scope of legal services to accounting firms. These services span from regulatory enforcement and litigation defense to corporate governance and advice on a wide range of risk, crisis management and professional practice issues. He also has extensive experience counseling public and private company boards and management. Ron’s area of emphasis covers the role of independent auditors and the importance of the independent audit to stakeholders and capital markets.

Prior to his tenure at Ernst & Young where he led a legal team of more than 200 professionals, Ron held general counsel and senior positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Through his in-house roles, he served as a trusted legal and business advisor to chief executive officers, senior management and board members.

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Elai successfully guides his clients’ transactions through antitrust and foreign investment regulatory reviews in the United States and internationally. His efficient approach has garnered a strong record of obtaining quick and positive resolutions during the early phases of merger reviews. Elai is particularly attuned to global antitrust trends, and he uses such insights to the benefit of his clients when negotiating and completing mergers and acquisitions.

In addition to his transactional work, Elai represents clients in a variety of antitrust disputes, including complex class actions alleging price fixing and monopolization, as well as matters involving distribution arrangements and price discrimination. He also regularly advises on joint ventures and trade associations, as well as marketing, pricing and distribution strategies.

Well regarded as a thought leader on antitrust trends, Elai writes an antitrust column in The New York Law Journal, edited The Antitrust Compliance Handbook and has written chapters in Antitrust Law Developments and New York Antitrust and Consumer Protection Law. He is a regular panelist and moderator at the New York State Bar Association’s annual meeting, as well as the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section Spring Meeting, where he covers timely topics such as merger enforcement, information exchange and financial market manipulation.

At the start of his legal career, Elai clerked for Justice Mishael Cheshin of the Supreme Court of Israel.

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• Defended a global bank in LIBOR-related litigation and investigations*
• Defended an IPOs underwriter in a price-fixing class action*
• Represented a major foreign bank in benchmark manipulation antitrust suits*
• Obtained dismissal of an exclusive-dealing monopolization complaint in NicSand v. 3M before the en banc US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit*
• Represented an online retailer in a search-ad keyword investigation by the FTC*
• Persuaded DOJ to close investigation of a completed acquisition of a leading technology and engineering firm*
• Represented the nation’s largest private psychiatric hospital provider in the FTC’s investigation of its acquisition by a competitor*

*Matter handled prior to joining the firm.

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David has played a leading role advising top real estate players in the market on some of the biggest and most innovative real estate transactions. He has spearheaded groundbreaking transactions involving REITs for a global hospitality and entertainment company and has extensive experience advising public and private REITs on mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and spin-offs. David has represented borrowers and lenders in capital markets and bank syndicate loans for office buildings, hotels, multifamily properties and other property portfolios. Representative clients include Aman Hotels, Ashford Hospitality, Blackstone, Brookfield Asset Management, Island Capital, LCOR, Lindsay Goldberg, Madison International, Monday Properties, Tishman Speyer and TPG Real Estate. David was also integrally involved with Lehman’s chapter 11 bankruptcy—the largest and most complex bankruptcy in US history—in implementing Lehman’s strategy for tens of billions of dollars of investments in both debt and equity related to various commercial and residential real estate projects across the globe.

David is recognized as a leading lawyer for Real Estate in New York by Chambers USA, where clients note he is “an outstanding lawyer and a relentless worker” who „does an excellent job getting parties to the table and helping everyone understand what they should be concentrating on.” He is also recognized as a “Notable Practitioner” for Real Estate in the US by IFLR 1000. David was also recognized as a “Next Generation Partner” for REITs and is recommended for Real Estate by Legal 500 US and a leading lawyer for Real Estate Law in New York by Best Lawyers in America. David was named a 2018 Real Estate “MVP” by Law360.

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Jim regularly advises clients on employment-related issues that arise in connection with transactional matters, such as mergers and acquisitions, asset deals and financing events—including with respect to sophisticated employment arrangements, retention agreements, bonus plans and equity compensation matters.

Clients also turn to Jim as a strategic advisor relating to the terms and use of offer letters, noncompetition and nondisclosure agreements, employee handbooks, and personnel policies.

Prior to his legal career, Jim served in the US Army Reserve for six years as a civilian affairs specialist.

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Felix Ganzer ist Autor zahlreicher Beiträge in den Bereichen Kapitalmarkt- und Gesellschaftsrecht. Vor seiner Tätigkeit bei McDermott war er bei zwei anderen führenden US-Kanzleien in Frankfurt und London tätig.

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• Tether, den globalen Marktführer im Bereich Stablecoins, bei der Gewährung eines Gesellschafterdarlehens über EUR 575 Mio. an die Northern Data AG
• DIC Asset beim öffentlichen Übernahmeangebot für die VIB Vermögen mit einer Bewertung von EUR 2,1 Mrd.*
• AUTO1 Group bei ihrem EUR 1,8 Mrd. Börsengang*
• Dermapharm Holding SE bei ihrem EUR 377 Mio. Börsengang*
• home24 bei ihrem EUR 173 Mio. Börsengang*
• Lone Star beim Dual Track Exit in Bezug auf die ISARIA Wohnbau*
• PharmaSGP Holding bei ihrem EUR 127 Mio. Börsengang*
• Schaeffler AG bei der Erstnotierung sowie einer Privatplatzierung von EUR 0,9 Mrd.*
• Aktionäre der Schaeffler AG bei einer EUR 1,2 Mrd. ABO Platzierung*
• Standard Industries bei ihrem EUR 1,9 Mrd. grenzüberschreitenden Übernahmeanbot für die Braas Monier Building Group*
• TLG IMMOBILIEN AG bei ihrem EUR 375 Mio. Börsengang*
• TLG IMMOBILIEN AG bei ihrem EUR 0,9 Mrd. Umtauschangebot für die WCM Beteiligungs- und Grundbesitz AG*
• Vonovia (ehemals Deutsche Annington) bei der Finanzierung ihres EUR 8,8 Mrd. grenzüberschreitenden Umtauschangebots für Gagfah*
• Banken im Zusammenhang mit dem EUR 605 Mio. Börsengang von ZALANDO*

Private M&A

• Cognism beim Verkauf von NETSTAG an Positive Group
• Investcorp beim Bieterprozess und Verkauf des KI-basierten Cloud-Anbieters Contentserv an Centric Software
• Cryoport beim grenzüberschreitenden Verkauf von CRYOPDP, eines auf den Healthcare Bereich spezialisierten Logistikanbieters, an die DHL Group
• Main Capital Partners und deren Portfoliounternehmen Bizzdesign beim Erwerb der Software-Plattform Alfabet
• Silver Lake und dessen Portfoliounternehmen Cegid beim Erwerb des deutschen Softwareanbieters sevdesk
• Aldebaran Capital Partners beim grenzüberschreitenden Erwerb von PAM Building, einem Hersteller von Rohrleitungen, von Saint-Gobain
• Verdane beim Erwerb einer Mehrheitsbeteiligung an dem Softwareunternehmen Cropster
• NORD Holding beim Erwerb des Anbieters von Cloud Lösungen powerdata GmbH durch die CONUTI Holding
• SubjectWell bei der grenzüberschreitenden Übernahme von Trials24
• Investcorp und deren Portfoliounternehmen Contentserv bei Übernahme des Softwareunternehmens Shoppingfeed
• Advent beim Erwerb eines deutschen Anbieters von Hotelsoftware*
• ChargePoint beim Erwerb der has to be GmbH*
• IHO Holding beim Erwerb der ATESTEO Group von 3i*
• Lone Star beim Erwerb des globalen Druckplattengeschäfts der Flint Group im Wege eines Carve-Outs*
• Standard Industries beim Erwerb von Icopal für EUR 1,0 Mrd.*

* Mandate betreut vor dem Eintritt bei McDermott.

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