ProfessionalsMatthew Merkle

Tel: +44-20-7367-1606
Fax: +44-20-7367-2554
mmerkle@paulweiss.com
Head of European Capital Markets, Matthew Merkle represents private equity sponsors and issuers on complex, high-profile transactions across Europe, the United States and emerging markets. Matthew has extensive experience advising clients on high-yield debt offerings, initial public offerings and other capital markets products in connection with leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings.
Awards & Recognitions
Matthew has received numerous recognitions for his work, including his recognition as Band 1 in Capital Markets (High Yield Products) by Chambers UK 2024, as a market leader for Capital Markets: Debt by IFLR1000 UK, and as a leading individual in High Yield by The Legal 500 UK. He was also recognized by The Lawyer 鈥淗ot 100鈥 in 2024 and 2017 and by Legal Week in its 2020 list of rising stars in private equity. He has had numerous matters recognized by the IFLR European Awards over the years, including for 鈥淒eal of the Year: High Yield鈥 (2023, 2019 and 2016). Matthew is a frequent speaker and writer on legal issues in the industry, and has served as an Editorial Advisory Board Member for The Lexis Practice Advisor Journal.
EXPERIENCE
Matthew advises a wide range of private equity firms and their portfolio companies, including Advent, Altor, Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, BC Partners, Blackstone, KPS Capital Partners, Investindustrial, Madison Dearborn Partners, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, TDR Capital and L Catterton, among many others.
Matthew鈥檚 recent representative matters have included:
- Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, in the financing aspects of its acquisition of Forgital Group from Carlyle, including $825 million of high-yield bonds
- Saur, a portfolio company of EQT, PGGM and CVC-DIF, in its inaugural 鈧550 million blue senior notes offering
- Global Auto Holdings Limited (GAHL) in its DKK 7.9 billion ($1.17 billion) acquisition of K.W. Bruun鈥檚 import and digital businesses
- TDR Capital and its portfolio companies in various transactions including:
- Bubbles Bidco in its private placement of 鈧75 million of senior secured notes
- Bubbles Bidco in its offering of 鈧400 million senior secured fixed rate and 鈧450 million senior secured floating rate notes
- in their acquisition of Acqua & Sapone from H.I.G. Capital and the founding Barbarossa family
- KPS Capital Partners:
- and its portfolio company Dynamo NewCo II, a shareholder of Innomotics, in its offering of 鈧600 million senior secured notes
- in its 鈧3.5 billion acquisition of Innomotics from Siemens
- and its portfolio company Eviosys in the 鈧3.615 billion sale of Eviosys to Sonoco Products Company
- Transcom Holding AB, a portfolio company of Altor Equity Partners, in the issuance of 鈧65 million of senior secured floating rate notes to certain institutional investors
- Investindustrial:
- and its portfolio company Sammontana Italia in its offering of 鈧800 million senior secured floating rate notes
- and its portfolio company CEME S.p.A. in connection with the issuance of 鈧360 million of senior secured floating-rate high-yield notes, and its entry into a new 鈧67.5 million revolving credit facility
- and its portfolio company Guala Closures S.p.A. in connection with an issuance of 鈧150 million of additional senior secured floating-rate notes and the upsize of its existing revolving credit facility
- and its portfolio company La Doria S.p.A. in its issuance of 鈧525 million of senior secured floating rate notes and entry into an 鈧85 million revolving credit facility
- in the financing aspects of its acquisition, alongside The Bagnoli Family, of Forno d'Asolo, from BC Partners
- and its portfolio company Guala Closures S.p.A. on an offering of 鈧350 million of high-yield bonds
- Bain Capital Private Equity and its portfolio companies in various transactions including:
- In connection with the financing of its acquisition of SO.MA.CI.S. S.p.A. including an offering of 鈧550 million high-yield bonds and entry into a new 鈧100 million revolving credit facility by Castello (BC) Bidco S.p.A.
- House of HR, a portfolio company of Bain Capital, in connection with a 鈧150 million Term Loan B (TLB) add-on to its existing 鈧1.02 billion TLB
- Fedrigoni, a portfolio company of Bain Capital and BC Partners, in connection with the issuance of 鈧430 million of senior secured notes and 鈧300 million of senior holdco pay-if-you-can toggle notes
- Fedrigoni, a portfolio company of Bain Capital and BC Partners, in its offering of 鈧665 million of high-yield bonds
- in the financing for the acquisition of a majority stake in House of HR
- as part of a consortium, in the financing for their investment in Italian Serie A club Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio S.p.A.
- STADA Arzneimittel, a portfolio company of Bain Capital and Cinven, in its successful offer to exchange 鈧1.4 billion in aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 3.5% Senior Secured Notes
- Engineering Ingegneria Informatica and its shareholders Bain Capital and NB Renaissance Partners on the issuance and private placement of 鈧100 million of additional senior secured to certain institutional investors
- Engineering Ingegneria Informatica and its shareholders Bain Capital and NB Renaissance Partners in connection with the financing aspects of the acquisition of a majority stake in Be Shaping the Future, including an offering of 鈧385 million of high-yield bonds
- Merlin Entertainments, a portfolio company of Blackstone, KIRKBI and CPP Investments, in its 鈧700 million offering of high-yield bonds
- Madison Dearborn Partners and its portfolio companies in various transactions including:
- The Ardonagh Group, a portfolio company of Madison Dearborn Partners and HPS, in its offering of $530 million of additional senior notes
- The Ardonagh Group, a portfolio company of Madison Dearborn Partners and HPS, in the offering of 拢1.18 billion of high yield bonds in dollars and euros in 2025 and $2.3 billion of high yield bonds in 2024
- in a 鈧500 million high-yield bond offering in connection with the financing of the acquisition of MoneyGram International
- Navacord, controlled by Madison Dearborn Partners, in connection with an offering of $500 million of high-yield bonds and in connection with an add-on offering of $100 million of high-yield bonds
- United Group, which is majority-owned by BC Partners, in connection with the:
- the financing aspects of the sale of (i) SBB doo Belgrade to e& PPF Telecom Group and (ii) Eon TV International Ltd to Telekom Srbija a.d. Beograd, for a combined enterprise value of 鈧1.5 billion
- issuance of 鈧750 million senior secured notes
- issuance of more than 鈧1.4 billion of senior secured fixed and floating rate notes; 鈧300 million of senior holdco pay-if-you-can PIK, or payment-in-kind, notes; and the upsize and maturity extension of United鈥檚 existing revolving credit facility
- financing for its acquisition of Wind Hellas, including an offering of 鈧980 million fixed and floating rate high-yield bonds
Matthew is a member of the Harvard Law School Leadership Council.
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