Zachary S. Finley

Mr. Finley has extensive experience working on debt financing transactions for clients across a range of industries, including digital infrastructure, manufacturing, transportation, health care, retail, gaming and natural resources. He has also counseled numerous technology companies on growth capital financings to help expand their businesses and introduce transformative products and services.

With significant experience in the digital infrastructure sector, Mr. Finley regularly provides strategic counsel to data center operators, service providers, lenders and investors on a wide variety of financing transactions. He assists clients in designing both traditional and bespoke financing structures to help ensure successful outcomes in the fast-growing data center market.

Prior to joining Skadden, Mr. Finley led the global Banking and Finance Group at another major law firm. He also served a three-year term on the Commercial Transactions Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of California, co-chairing the committee during his final year.

Experience Highlights

Mr. Finley’s significant representations prior to joining Skadden include:

Borrower Representations

• one of the world’s largest data center companies for 20 years on its corporate credit facilities and numerous financings for its joint ventures with financial sponsors to develop its hyperscale data center platform across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas
• a private equity sponsor and its portfolio companies on over $1 billion of financings for new platform acquisitions and subsequent add-ons
• a top 20 insurance brokerage firm on several billion dollars of financings for leveraged recapitalizations and acquisitions
• a multi-strategy asset manager on a $710 million senior secured credit facility to finance its leveraged buyout of an automotive finance and insurance products platform and on multiple incremental debt raises to finance add-on acquisitions
• Wind Creek Hospitality in connection with its $1.3 billion term loan B to finance its acquisition from Las Vegas Sands of the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
• Aria Energy, an owner and operator of a portfolio of landfill gas-to-energy projects, in connection with its $200 million term loan B facility
• the management group of Perfect World, a Nasdaq-listed publisher of online gaming titles, in connection with a $900 million bridge loan to finance the take-private acquisition of the company
• Applied Materials in connection with its $2 billion term loan facility to finance its acquisition of Kokusai Electric

Lead Arranger and Lender Representations

• a credit fund on a $74 million Holdco PIK loan to finance a private equity sponsor’s leveraged buyout of a beverage company
• a credit fund on a $250 million senior secured credit facility to finance a private equity sponsor’s leveraged buyout of a financial services company
• the proprietary strategic capital fund of a bank holding company as a lender to a regional retailer of farm, ranch and outdoor living goods
• the lead arranger for $410 million of secured revolving and term loan credit facilities provided to an electronics manufacturing company to fund working capital and strategic acquisitions
• the Japan-based subordinated second-lien lenders on a $3.4 billion sale-leaseback transaction for Sprint Corporation involving Sprint’s network equipment assets
• the lead arranger and administrative agent for a $171 million bridge loan facility provided to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority to finance construction costs for the new Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco
• the lead arranger and administrative agent for a $1 billion secured revolving credit facility provided to a natural resources company
• the lead arranger and administrative agent for $400 million of first-lien and second-lien credit facilities provided to a leading sponsor portfolio company in the health care industry
• the lead arranger and administrative agent for $600 million of secured revolving and term loan B credit facilities provided to a multi-property casino and hotel owner and operator
• the lead arranger and administrative agent for $800 million of secured revolving and term loan B credit facilities provided to an owner and operator of gaming properties to refinance existing indebtedness and for ongoing working capital
• one of the largest bank creditors in the $2.3 billion comprehensive debt restructuring for a Native American tribal gaming enterprise, which included the exchange of the borrower’s existing senior secured bank debt for new senior secured term loan A and term loan B loans
• a leading global investment firm, as a senior secured lender, on a $130 million financing to an alternative asset management investment firm for its acquisition of a private equity investment firm

In recognition of his work in banking and finance, Mr. Finley has been repeatedly recognized by IFLR1000 and Chambers USA, in which clients have praised him as a “phenomenal attorney” who is “extremely aware of the market and a great resource when it comes to debt financing.”