DLA Piper receives Restructuring Real Estate Deal of the Year award and Restructuring Financial Deal of the Year award from M&A Advisor

DLA Piper is pleased to announce that the firm has received the Restructuring Real Estate Deal of the Year award and Restructuring Financial Deal of the Year award from the M&A Advisor for its representation of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (now PREIT Realty) and its direct and indirect subsidiaries (PREIT) in the company’s financial and corporate restructuring. The transaction was led by DLA Piper partner Oksana Koltko Rosaluk and Rick Chesley, the firm’s Co-US Managing Partner and Global Managing Partner. The transaction was recognized as part of the 23rd Annual M&A Advisor Awards on November 20.

Through the restructuring effort, PREIT reduced its total debt by approximately US$835 million through the second lien debt for equity swap, extended its senior facility maturity runway, and received commitments of new money exit revolver financing (in addition to debtor-in-possession financing) from a group of investors. All general unsecured creditors and property-level debt lenders remained unimpaired as the company was able to maintain business as usual during its in-court restructuring. Under the company’s prepackaged plan of reorganization, PREIT's then existing equity interests, including US$384 million of preferred equity interests, were extinguished in exchange for a US$10 million cash distribution. Further, as a result of the corporate reorganization, PREIT emerged as a private company.

In addition to Rosaluk and Chesley, who led the restructuring, the DLA Piper financing team was led by Shmuel Klahr (New York) and Kira Mineroff (Short Hills), and the real estate team was led by Stacy Osmond (Chicago) and included REIT tax partner Shiukay Hung (New York). Corporate guidance was provided by Christopher Paci (New York) and Christina Houston (Wilmington), and Witek Jurewicz (New York) provided tax advice.