Debt Buybacks Debate Rages on as LMA Creates Room for Negotiation

"U.S. and magic circle partners are continuing to debate the issue of debt buybacks as the Loan Market Association (LMA) prepares to amend its documentation.

Kirkland & Ellis finance partner Stephen Gillespie said: 'I don't follow the LMA's statement that it's a fundamental principle of syndicated lending that all lenders be treated equally by the borrower. That is a self-serving gloss intended to justify a proposed interference with the doctrine of freedom of contract which underlies English commercial law.' "

This article appeared in its entirety in the June 9, 2008 edition of The Lawyer.