Sidley’s Hong Kong team has advised prominent Chinese real estate developer, Guangzhou R&F Properties Co., Ltd. (R&F), on the restructuring of its 10 series of U.S. dollar-denominated notes with an aggregate outstanding principal amount of approximately US$4.9 billion. This transaction is reported to mark the largest successful restructuring of public real estate debt in Asia to date.
The complex transaction was implemented through a consent solicitation for proposed waivers and amendments involving a combination of maturity extensions, PIK coupon mechanics, asset disposal-linked mandatory early redemptions, and a notes consolidation and mandatory exchange, which was launched concurrently with a proposal for consenting noteholders to accede to a restructuring support agreement. The consent solicitation received requisite support from holders of all 10 series of notes.
The complex debt restructuring was led by partners Renee Xiong and Matthew Sheridan, global co-leader of the Capital Markets group. Other team members included counsel Leonard Lou, managing associate Sophie Gu, and associates Angie Fan and Chang Che.
