From conventional financing to SBA loans to mezzanine financing to forming private equity funds and hedge funds, our Columbus, Ohio finance lawyers guide clients through commercial and private financing transactions and structures.
Our Columbus finance lawyers have assisted clients with closing mergers and acquisitions involving private equity, buying and selling businesses with SBA financing, and structuring and launching private equity funds, and structuring and launching hedge funds.
Our finance lawyers advise business clients on commercial finance and business financing and refinancing. Our Columbus finance law firm assists with term loans, revolving loans, guaranty agreements, and subordination agreements.
In working through a commercial finance or refi package, our finance lawyers guide businesses through loan agreements. This includes advising on the loan term, line of credit structure, borrowing ratios, loan disbursements and disbursement conditions, borrower representations and warranties, affirmative covenants and negative covenants, financial statements and financial reporting, insurance requirements, collateral and inventory, events of default, cure period, lender remedies, and closing and post-closing obligations.
When necessary, our finance lawyers also guide business owners through personal guarantee agreements and guarantee options. This includes unconditional and limited guarantees, guarantee terms, cognitive provisions, subordination requirements, and default scenarios.
Our finance lawyers also assist business through a range of finance-related requirements and steps including closing requirements, clean up and updating of company records, operating agreements, resolutions, and minutes, mortgages, indemnification agreements, title issues and commitments, insurance requirements, estoppel certificates, subordination, non-disturbance, and attornment agreements (SNDAs), perfection certificates, UCC financing statements, know your customer (KYC) documentation and requirements, payoff letters, opinion letters, and settlement statements.
Our finance lawyers have years of experience in advising on and closing financing for small and medium size businesses. We advise on all stages of SMB financing, including term sheets, letters of intent, loan commitment letters; due diligence preparation, review, and disclosures; drafting and negotiating of the loan documents, creation of security interests, and negotiating financing statements, and closing.
Our small and medium size business lawyers have deep experience with SBA financing and have closed numerous U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. We advise on the different types and requirements of SBA loans, including the Standard 7(a), the 7(a) Small Loan, and the SBA Express loan.
With SBA financing in particular, our finance and business lawyers understand the unique considerations, requirements, and finesse that are necessary to close the purchase of a business with an SBA loan. This includes structuring an asset purchase agreement and ancillary purchase documents to comply with SBA requirements and guidelines.
Our Columbus finance law firm advise on all aspects of mezzanine financing and represents both lenders and borrowers in mezzanine finance transactions. Whether a business is pursuing debt, equity, or a combination thereof, our finance lawyers assist with a variety of mezzanine capital structures.
As mezzanine financing can be one of the more negotiated types of finance, our business attorneys assist clients with structuring a mezzanine transaction that meshes with the financial goals and risk tolerance of our business clients. Whether a mezzanine package involves subordinated and unsecured debt, secured debt, or preferred stock, our finance attorneys advise on and assist with a range of mezzanine terms including collateral, use of proceeds, loan term, leverage restrictions, interest rates, commitment fees and termination fees, payment structures, reporting and audit rights, representations and warranties, perfection of security interests, insurance, negative covenants, default events and remedies, and maturity date restrictions and requirements.
Our finance attorneys are experienced a range of financing for mergers and acquisitions. Our finance law firm counsels business clients on buying and selling businesses with conventional lending with both local and national retail banks and with investment banks. Our finance attorneys also guide businesses through SBA backed acquisitions, including SBA 7(a) loans. Our Columbus finance firm has advised buy and sell side client with mergers and acquisitions involving both private equity and venture capital.
In terms of purchasing a business, our finance and M&A attorneys work closely with purchasers through every stage of an acquisition. From carefully structuring letters of intent (LOIs), memorandums of understanding (MOUs), and term sheets with financing contingencies to assisting with due diligence to advising on financial review, appraisals, purchase price allocations, our finance attorneys have significant experience with every stage of M&A finance.
Our commercial finance lawyers also assist acquirors with structuring finance packages that are tailored to a client’s goals, risk tolerance, and acquisition goals. This includes drafting offers and purchase price structures involving seller financing, holdback, and earn outs.
From complex private equity fund structuring to advising on deploying private equity investments and private equity financing, our finance law firm works with general partners, fund managers, and limited partners.
Our finance lawyers guide general partners and managers through fund formation. This includes carefully tailoring a limited partnership agreement to the goals of the fund. Our finance lawyers guide general partners and managers through a range of fund considerations including admission and withdrawal of limited partners, investment limitations, diversification requirements, blocker corporations, alternative investment vehicles, bridge financing, capital contributions, capital calls, management fees, carried interest, and fund management.
Our Columbus private equity lawyers also advise general partners and managers on securities compliance, exemptions, and filings for private equity funds. This includes structuring funds to fall under the Section 203(m) exemption under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and assisting with Form ADV. For general partners that are considered investment advisers with assets under management exceeding $150 million, our finance lawyers also assist with and advise on Form PF.
Our finance law firm also works closely with general partners and managers to tailor fund governing documents to the fund’s goals. Key structuring considerations can include how much a fund is looking to raise and the number of investors the fund is willing to allow. Depending on such considerations, our finance lawyers advise on whether to structure the fund as a 3(c)(1) fund or a 3(c)(7) fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940. We advise on the requirements of both structures, in conjunction with pursuing exemption under Rule 506 of Regulations D.
From core to core-plus to value-add to opportunity to distressed debt and mezzanine, our finance firm advises on all facets of private real estate fund formation, structuring, and operations. Our business finance attorneys work closely with general partners and fund managers to advise on numerous aspects of real estate funds, including open-end funds and closed funds, waterfall models, preferred returns carried interest, clawback provisions, and fees. With regards to the latter, we work with fund managers to tailor the fund structure and fees to the type of strategy pursued, including hard and soft cost development fees, construction management, facility management, and acquisition, disposition, and refinancing fees.
In working with the general partner and fund manager on the formation of a real estate fund, our finance lawyers assist with tailoring the offering documents to the type of fund strategy, most notably the private placement memorandum. We assist and advise on the PPM’s description and presentation of the investment strategy, the market opportunity, investment selection and criteria, and presentation of fund management information.
Beyond the description of the offering, our business lawyers also prepare and advise on real estate specific risk factors and investment considerations for the real estate private placement memorandum. Depending on whether the fund is pursuing a core, core-plus, value-add, opportunity, or other strategy, the risk factors involved can greatly differ from one fund PPM to another fund PPM. We advise on macro-level risk factors such as economic conditions and interest rates to strategy specific risk factors such as development project risks, labor costs, financing, and leverage risks, refinancing risks, leasing and turnover consideration, and zoning and land use regulations.
Our finance lawyers advise on hedge fund formation and ongoing operations. From traditional long/short to arbitrage to event driven to global macro to multi-strategy, our hedge funds lawyers assist funds with structuring the fund offering documents in accordance with the fund’s strategy.
Our finance law firm assists hedge funds with structuring funds and offerings for various types of investors. Our experience includes structuring funds for investment from qualified clients and qualified purchasers. Depending on the goals for a fund, our finance attorneys advise on raising capital from qualified clients in accordance with compliance with Rule 205-3 of the Investment Advisers Act and Section 3(c)(1) of the Investment Company Act. When a fund anticipates raising from more than 100 persons, we assist with structuring a fund to accept investments from qualified purchasers and compliance with Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act.
Our Columbus finance attorneys have assisted our business clients in closing millions of dollars’ worth of commercial and industrial real estate. Our finance firm’s real estate finance experience includes conventional financing, private lending, private equity-backed acquisitions, Small Business Administration financing (including SBA 7(a) loans), commercial refinance, and bridge loan financing.
Our finance attorneys have advised our real estate clients on a wide range of property types and development projects. This includes multifamily, student housing, senior housing, retail and shopping centers, gas stations, commercial office space, mixed-use projects hotels, golf courses, ski resorts, heavy industrial, light industrial, warehouse, and manufacturing.
Our real estate finance practice includes assisting investors, borrowers, and lenders in structuring both debt and equity investments in residential, commercial, and industrial real estate
With regards to debt financing, our financial attorneys have years of experiences with drafting and structuring loan agreements, draw schedules, development budgets, subordinated debt, loan certificates, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings, collateral assignments, environmental and environmental indemnification matters, escrow agreements, mortgages and open-end mortgages, security agreements, prepaid interest agreements, cognovit notes, personal guarantees, and loan syndication.
Our real estate finance experience also includes loan restructuring. Our finance firm has advised clients on pre-negotiation agreements, forbearance agreements, loan modifications, default issues, construction loan agreement restructure, and promissory note restructure.
With regards to real estate equity investments, our real estate finance attorneys advise business clients on complex equity transactions, no matter where an investor may lie in the capital stack. Our finance practice includes advising and structuring both preferred equity and common equity and working with senior and mezzanine debt.
For indirect real estate investing and finance, our Columbus finance attorneys assist investors and developers with all facets of limited partnership agreements and limited liability company (LLC) operating agreement structure. This includes advising on preferred returns, capital contributions and capital calls, clawback, and property disposition and acquisitions.
As a part of our real estate finance practice, we also advise developers and real estate funds on securities laws and requirements related to fundraising and equity investments. This includes raising capital from accredited investors and qualified purchasers and pursuing securities exemptions under Rule 506(b) and Rule 506(c) and 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7).
Our finance law firm has successfully closed millions of dollars’ worth of private real estate lending for real estate developers. We have advised real estate developers on a variety of private lending documents and issues.
This includes affidavits of distributions of proceeds, affidavits of title and non-occupancy, loan agreements, open-end mortgages and assignments of leases and rents, security agreements, pledge agreements, prepaid interest agreements, promissory note and promissory note riders, property release agreements, and errors and omissions affidavits and agreements.
No matter what type of finance structure your business is pursuing, our finance lawyers bring years of experience and expertise to structuring and negotiating finance packages. In representing both fund managers and investors, our finance attorneys guide clients through complex private equity and hedge fund structure and investment.
If your business is contemplating a finance package or you are considering forming or investing in a private equity structure, hedge fund, or private real estate fund, contact our Columbus, Ohio finance law firm to inquire how we can assist with your finance goals.