The restructuring was implemented by means of a debt-for-equity swap, deleveraging and strengthening the group balance sheet by addressing around €1.9 billion of existing debt, and leaving the business with improved liquidity. As part of this debt-for-equity swap, ownership of Swissport was transferred to a group of financial investors led by the former senior secured lenders of the Group. The restructuring addressed the financial challenges that the Swissport Group faced due to the coronavirus pandemic and provided sufficient liquidity for future continued operations.
The restructuring, led by the Luxembourg companies in the group, was implemented through a scheme of arrangement combined with a pre-packaged sale of the Swissport business out of Administration. This follows Swissport’s initial scheme of arrangement, which was initiated in 2020, enabling the borrowing of a €300 million super senior interim facility. Each of these schemes were supported by a chapter 15 recognition order from the US Bankruptcy Court.
Swissport is the global leader of ground services and cargo handling for the aviation industry. It is active in over 300 airports in 50 countries and employs around 65,000 people.
Loyens & Loeff restructuring team acted as Luxembourg counsel to Swissport, putting together corporate and finance experts, providing another example of Loyens & Loeff restructuring team’s involvement in many recent large and complex cross border debt restructurings. This team effort was led by the Corporate restructuring partner Michael Scott, with associates Madeleine Marques and Diogo Morgado Filipe. The Luxembourg team further consisted of Finance partner Anne-Marie Nicolas, with senior associate Alvaro Garrido Mesa and associates Martina Benackova, Richard Steichen and Ignacio Jimenez Guardiola. Litigation team colleagues were also involved in the matter.
