Biography
Frank Adams is a partner in Weil's Capital Markets practice and is based in New York. He has wide-ranging experience in acquisition and leveraged finance transactions and high yield debt, cross-border and other complex securities offerings. He also represents issuers and investment banks in structuring and executing innovative liability management transactions. He regularly represents U.S. public companies in corporate governance and other board level matters, securities law compliance and disclosure matters.
Frank is recognized as a “Highly Regarded” lawyer for Capital Markets: Debt & Equity in the U.S. by IFLR1000. He is also recommended for Capital Markets: High-Yield Debt and Debt Offerings by Legal 500 US, where clients note he “has proven to be an established individual in the market, who knows the best course of action and who skillfully navigates all processes. He demonstrates a strong level of sophistication and commercial awareness.”
Frank's transactional experience includes:
- Cano Health, Inc., in connection with its emergence from restructuring proceedings which included the issuance of 41,800,000 shares of common stock and 2,200,150 warrants.
- Cedar Fair, L.P., in consent solicitations to certain amendments to four indentures in connection with its $8 billion merger of equals with Six Flags Entertainment Corporation.
- Iron Mountain Incorporated, a REIT and provider of storage and information management services, in private offerings aggregating $3.5 billion pursuant to Rule 144A of senior unsecured notes to repay existing indebtedness; its $750 million offering of senior unsecured 144A / Reg S notes to finance its acquisition of ITRenew, Inc.; and in a $1.8 billion incremental senior secured term loan facility.
- Black Knight, Inc. (BK), a provider of integrated software, data and analytics solutions to the mortgage and consumer loan, real estate and capital markets verticals, in a $1 billion private offering pursuant to Rule 144A of senior unsecured notes by its subsidiary, Black Knight InfoServ, LLC, to finance BK's acquisition of Optimal Blue Holdings, LLC.
- Campbell Soup Company in its $5.3 billion senior unsecured fixed and floating rate notes offering to, in part, finance its $6.1 billion acquisition of Snyder’s-Lance, Inc.; its $1.2 billion waterfall tender offer for repurchase of certain senior notes and $500 million redemption of certain other senior notes to reduce outstanding indebtedness; and its $1 billion senior unsecured notes offering to reduce outstanding indebtedness.
- Johnson & Johnson, a multi-national manufacturer of pharmaceutical, diagnostic, therapeutic, surgical and biotechnology products, in numerous offerings, including a multi-tranche $7.5 billion senior unsecured notes offering to, primarily, finance its acquisition of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; a multi-tranche $4.5 billion senior notes offering; $4 billion registered offering of U.S. Dollar-denominated notes and an aggregate $2.7 billion registered offering of Euro-denominated notes to fund the acquisition of Shockwave and its U.S. and euro-commercial paper programs
- WPX Energy, Inc., an oil and gas E&P company with operations in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico and the Williston Basin in North Dakota, in its $900 million senior unsecured notes offering to finance in part its acquisition of Felix Energy, LLC.
- Vantage Drilling International, a provider of offshore oil and natural gas well drilling services, in its private offering to existing creditors of $76 million senior secured second lien notes and $750 million step-up senior subordinated secured third lien convertible notes, as part of a pre-packaged plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
- Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF) in a $650 million senior notes offering to repay, primarily, debt incurred in connection with an acquisition; a $600 million senior unsecured notes offering to repay, primarily, debt incurred in connection with FNF's $2.7 billion acquisition of FGL Holdings; and a $450 million senior unsecured notes offering.
- General Electric Capital Corporation in a $36 billion issuance by GE Capital International Funding Company (a finance subsidiary of GECC) of senior unsecured dollar- and pounds sterling-denominated notes pursuant to a private exchange offer for more than 120 series of outstanding GECC debt securities – the largest corporate debt exchange offer in history.
- Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. (a public company backed by an investor consortium led by THL Partners, Cannae Holdings, Black Knight and CC Capital), a supplier of data and analytics solutions and insights that are used in making commercial credit and other business decisions, in a $460 million senior unsecured 144A / Reg S notes offering by its subsidiary, Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, to redeem in full certain of its senior first lien notes.
- Arrival Ltd., a manufacturer of lightweight commercial electric vehicles, in its $320 million offering of senior unsecured 144A/Reg S green convertible notes, concurrently with its $354 million follow-on offering of ordinary shares, to generate operating capital.
- ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. in a $324 million underwritten secondary offering of 13.8 million shares of ChargePoint common stock.
- Emergent BioSolutions Inc. in issuance of series I warrants to purchase 1,000,000 shares of common stock and series II warrants to purchase 1,500,000 shares of common stock in connection with the $250 million senior secured term loan facility agreement and its $100 million senior secured revolving facility.
- Ditech Holding Corporation (f/k/a Walter Investment Management Corp.), a diversified mortgage banking firm, in its issuance of $250 million in new second lien notes and $100 million in mandatorily convertible preferred stock to holders of senior notes claims and its issuance of warrants and shares of successor common stock to holders of both predecessor shares of common stock and of convertible notes claims, all pursuant to a Weil-led pre-packaged plan of reorganization under chapter 11 that eliminated approximately $800 million of corporate debt.
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Carestream Dental Technology Parent Limited in its $185 million offering of senior unsecured PIK convertible notes due 2031 in connection with restructuring its debt and Carestream Dental LLC in its senior secured term loan and revolving facility.
- Glencore plc, as investor, in issuance of a $75 million senior secured convertible note and $225 million of amended and restated convertible bonds for Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.
- Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. (the strategic venture capital arm of Johnson & Johnson), an investor in emerging health care, life science and technology businesses, as the selling shareholder in a $51 million secondary offering of shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that develops solutions for infectious diseases.
- Basic Energy Services, Inc., a provider of well site services to oil and natural gas drilling and producing companies, in an exchange of $775 million aggregate principal amount of unsecured notes due 2019 and 2022 for new common shares in Basic, as reorganized, and a $125 million rights offering of mandatorily convertible PIK notes which, under the terms of their issuance, were automatically converted into new common shares in Basic.
- ATI Physical Therapy Inc. (a publicly traded company backed by Advent International), an outpatient physical therapy provider, in its $165 million private issuance of preferred shares and warrants, to refinance existing indebtedness.
- Acacia Research Corporation, a developer and acquirer of public and private businesses focused on mature technology, industrials, healthcare and business services industries, as issuer, in a $150 million recapitalization of 41,151,299 shares of common stock held by Starboard Value LP.
- Tidewater Inc. in its $125 million tender offer for repurchase of senior secured notes and related consent solicitation.
- Approach Resources Inc., an independent energy company focused on the exploration, development, production and acquisition of unconventional oil and gas reserves in the Midland Basin of the greater Permian Basin in West Texas, in a unique private debt for equity exchange and exempt public debt for equity exchange offer, pursuant to which up to $230 million of 7.00% senior notes due 2021 may be exchanged for shares of common stock, and in related governance arrangements and shareholder approvals.
- Morgan Stanley and Citi, as joint book running managers, in the $2.4 billion notes offering by Harris Corporation, a maker of communications equipment for defense, government, broadcast and wireless applications, to finance in part its proposed $4.75 billion acquisition of Exelis, Inc., a developer of information systems for aerospace, defense, surveillance, air traffic and cyber security applications.
- The Walt Disney Company in numerous offerings, including its $1.3 billion senior notes offering; its $4 billion U.S. and Euro medium term notes and commercial paper programs; and its $1 billion senior notes offering on September 17, 2001, which re-opened the U.S. capital markets after the September 11 tragedies.
- Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and other major financial institutions, as joint book running managers, in a $525 million high yield bond offering for HealthSouth Corporation, an owner and operator of inpatient rehabilitative hospitals.
- Polkomtel S.A., one of the largest mobile telecommunications operators in Poland, and affiliated companies in numerous financings, including a dual tranche offering of high yield notes, comprising €543 million and $500 million senior notes, an offering of $200 million PIK notes and the related bridge and permanent loan facilities – these financings constituted part of the financing for the $6 billion acquisition of Polkomtel by Spartan S.A., for which the finance deal team was selected Finance Team of the Year at the 2012 UK Legal Business Awards.
- CET 21 spol. s r.o. and its parent, Central European Media Enterprises Ltd., a leading media and entertainment company in Central and Eastern Europe, in CET 21’s €170 million senior notes offering and a concurrent senior secured revolving credit facility to refinance existing indebtedness – the first secured high yield bond issued from the Czech Republic.
- Central European Distribution Corporation, an integrated spirit beverages business, in numerous equity, equity-linked and debt offerings, including $1.2 billion concurrent equity and senior notes offerings, to finance, among other things, the acquisition of the Russian Alcohol Group; and in the company’s dual listing on NASDAQ and the Warsaw Stock Exchange and initial public offering – the first-ever U.S. SEC-registered and European Union Prospectus Directive compliant equity offering.
- Lottomatica S.p.A., the Italian lottery operator and gaming company, in its €1.4 billion equity rights offering and its issuance of €750 million interest deferrable step-up capital securities, which constituted part of the financing for Lottomatica’s acquisition of GTECH Holdings Corporation – at the time, the largest-ever acquisition in the United States by an Italian company.
- Weather Investments, Wind and affiliated companies in the €2 billion bridge, high-yield and PIK financing for the €12 billion leveraged buyout of Wind, an Italian telecommunications provider – the transaction was named “European Debt & Equity-Linked Deal of 2005” by International Financial Law Review.
Awards and Recognition, Awards and Recognition, Speaking Engagements, Latest Thinking, Firm News & Announcements, Latest Thinking, Firm News & Announcements
Awards and Recognition
- Frank Adams Recognized as a “Highly Regarded” Lawyer for Capital Markets: Debt & Equity in the U.S. Award Brief — IFLR1000
- Frank Adams Recommended for Capital Markets: High-Yield Debt and Debt Offerings Award Brief — Legal 500 US
Latest Thinking
- Current Financial Statements – What’s Necessary to Price An Offering 2024 Calendar Alert — Global Finance Practice — By Alex Lynch, Corey Chivers, Daniel S. Dokos, Michael B. Hickey, Frank R. Adams, Heather L. Emmel, Barbra J. Broudy, Merritt S. Johnson, Ashley Butler and Michael Stein — PDF — November 15, 2023
- Form 8-K Triggering Events Alert — PDF — November 2022
- SEC Proposes Changes to Shareholder Proposal Rule 14a-8 Alert — Governance & Securities — By Adé Heyliger — PDF — July 22, 2022
- SEC Proposes Broad Changes for SPACs and De-SPACs Alert — Governance & Securities — By Frank R. Adams, James R. Griffin, Adé Heyliger, Alex Lynch and Steven Bentsianov — PDF — April 08, 2022
Firm News & Announcements
- Weil Advises Cedar Fair on Financing Related to the Merger with Six Flags and Redemption of its 2025 Senior Secured Notes Deal Brief — May 03, 2024
- Weil Advises The Home Depot in its Pending $18.25B Acquisition of SRS Deal Brief — April 01, 2024