US elite line up for Citi stock deal

A trio of US firms has snared lead roles advising on Citigroup’s recapitalisation.

Davis Polk & Wardwell is lead counsel to the bank with partners George Bason, Louis Goldberg and Michael Davis leading a team. The firm dealt with negotiations with the US government while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton advised Citi on the public exchange offer and the terms of the securities.

Cleary partners David Lopez, Neil Whoriskey and Jeff Karpf lead a team advising as co-counsel with Davis Polk.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett partner Lee Meyerson is advising the US Treasury on the deal which gives the US government a 36 per cent stake in the ailing financial institution.

In the deal, the Treasury is converting current preferred stock into common equity with shareholders including the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

Common stock valuing $27.5bn will be exchanged for preferred securities at a price of $3.25 per share.

Last year Simpson Thacher’s Meyerson advised the US Treasury on its original $700bn financial markets bailout (http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=135300”>21 Oct 2008).

Davis Polk and Cleary have been instructed on a number of credit crisis-related deals. In November last year, Davis Polk partner Bradley Smith, James Florack and Arthur Long led a team advising the New York Federal Reserve Bank on the $200bn Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (Talf).