Hunton & Williams To Be Honored With Two M&A Advisor Awards

WASHINGTON — February 14, 2014 — Many of today’s M&A deals involve financially distressed businesses requiring lawyers with the acumen to handle these complex restructuring, sale, and refinancing transactions. For its role in mitigating challenges for its clients in the distressed investing and reorganization industry, Hunton & Williams LLP will be among the firms receiving the Sec. 363 Sale of the Year ($100M-$1B) and Distressed M&A Deal of the Year ($10-$50M) awards during M&A Advisor’s 8th Annual Turnaround Awards event to be held March 11.

Hunton & Williams will be honored for its role in the Sec. 363 Sale of the Year ($100 million to $1 billion), the bankruptcy sale of substantially all of the assets of Orchard Supply Hardware Stores to a newly formed limited liability company owned by firm client Lowe’s Companies, Inc., the world’s second-largest home improvement chain. The firm guided Lowe’s through the bankruptcy process to purchase 71 retail outlets from the California-based operator in exchange for cash consideration of $205 million, continued employment for most of the debtor’s employees, and the assumption of designated liabilities owing to the debtors vendors and landlords. The multidisciplinary team advising Lowe’s included J. Steven Patterson, Scott H. Kimpel, Gregory G. Hesse, Alyssa J. Kahn, Malcolm C. Weiss, Diana Pfeffer Martin, David Mustone, Amanda L. Wait, Gregory L. Kinzelman, Kevin J. White, Jason O. Zeigler, and Michael A. Oakes.

The firm also will receive an award for its role in the Distressed M&A Deal of the Year ($10 million to $50 million), the foreclosure/Article 9 sale of Midstate Mills, Inc., a North Carolina flour mill, to a subsidiary of firm client Renovo Capital, LLC. The firm guided Renovo through the bankruptcy process resulting in Renovo, through its newly formed subsidiary Renwood Mills, providing the winning bid in a bankruptcy court-sanctioned foreclosure sale of Midstate’s assets. As the new owner of the mill, Renovo achieved not only a favorable business result, but preserved the operations of a nearly 80-year-old milling enterprise and secured the jobs of many lifelong Midstate employees. The legal team advising Renovo/Renwood included John R. Schneider, Tyler P. Brown, and Matthew Mannering.