Kenneth J. Ryan

Mr. Ryan counsels on acquisition financings, bond offerings and private placements, syndicated loan financings, private capital lending transactions, liability management transactions and restructurings across an extensive range of industries.

He also represents market participants in matters in the fintech sector and those involving Web3 and digital assets and blockchain technologies, with a focus on financing and corporate transactions.

Additionally, he has experience counseling on structured finance transactions, including infrastructure/utilities acquisition financings, whole business and mortgage-backed securitizations, various loan portfolio financings and derivatives transactions.

Mr. Ryan also counsels on a variety of social finance and pro bono transactions, and has advised on a number of public and private debt financing packages to support charitable initiatives in the United Kingdom, European Union, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

Prior to joining the firm, following his training at a leading Irish law firm, Mr. Ryan worked at a top U.S. firm and a Magic Circle firm in London.

Mr. Ryan has completed two secondments to J.P. Morgan, most recently to the capital markets desk in London, focused on European and cross-border high-yield bond and leveraged loan transactions.

Notable representations, including prior to joining Skadden, have included advising:

• the initial purchasers on Ithaca Energy’s €750 million senior notes issuance
• Telpark, a portfolio company of Macquarie Asset Management, on its private placement of €125 million senior secured notes 
• the initial purchasers on multiple issuances of senior secured notes, floating rate notes and senior holdco pay-if-you-can PIK notes by United Group, totaling over €2 billion
• the initial purchasers on Lottomatica’s €400 million senior secured floating rate notes issuance and €500 million senior secured notes issuance
• eir on multiple issuances of senior secured notes, totaling nearly €1.5 billion
• Together on multiple issuances of senior secured notes and senior PIK toggle notes, totaling nearly £1.5 billion
• Jaguar Land Rover on multiple issuances of senior notes, totaling over €1 billion
• the initial purchasers on multiple issuances of senior secured notes and senior PIK toggle notes by Ardonagh, totaling nearly €1 billion
• the initial purchasers on GEMS Education’s $900 million senior secured notes issuance due 2026 (IFLR Debt and Equity-Linked Deal of the Year )
• the initial purchasers on Kongsberg Automotive’s €275 million senior secured notes issuance due 2025
• the initial purchasers on multiple issuances of senior secured floating rate notes by Fedrigoni, totaling nearly €1 billion
• the joint bookrunners on multiple issuances of senior notes by Vivion Investments, totaling €1 billion
• various issuers, investors and placement agents on numerous private placement bond transactions

Liability Management Transactions

• the dealer managers on Telecom Italia’s €5.5 billion equivalent liability management transaction, through an unprecedented structure incorporating concurrent exchange offers of euro and U.S. dollar notes for equivalent notes issued by Telecom Italia entities, later mandatorily exchanged for notes issued by Optics Bidco S.p.A., a KKR-controlled vehicle, upon completion of the sale of Telecom Italia’s landline network assets to KKR
• the sponsor of WiZink Bank on its €515 million holdco senior secured PIK toggle notes restructuring and €250 million new capital raise through a consensual exchange offer and consent solicitation, resulting in additional equity claims and new first lien and second lien facilities

Loan Financings

• eir on multiple syndicated loan, term loan and revolving credit facility financings, including a €400 million term loan financing and the amendment and extension of its €945 million term loan
• the lenders on United Group’s amendment and extension and upsize of its €410 million revolving credit facility