A partner in the Finance Group, Alena Thomas advises private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, corporate borrowers and lenders on a wide range of leveraged finance transactions, including acquisition financings, cross-border transactions, debt restructurings and complex liability management transactions. She has significant experience in arranging tailored financing structures, including first-lien, second-lien, unitranche, asset-based, recurring-revenue, back-leverage, bridge and high-yield financings.
Alena has represented a number of private equity firms and their portfolio companies, including American Securities, Apax, Apollo, Cerberus, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Clearlake, General Atlantic, HPS Investment Partners, Kelso & Company, KKR, LCatterton, Nordic Capital and Warburg Pincus. She also regularly advises public and private companies in complex financing transactions.
Some of Alena’s notable representations include*:
Private Equity
- American Securities in the financing aspects of its acquisition of Trace3, a premier provider of IT solutions and services to commercial and enterprise clients
- Apax Partners and its portfolio companies in the financing aspects of transactions, including:
- the acquisition of SavATree, a leading professional tree, shrub and lawn care provider
- ongoing finance matters for Trade Me, a leading online classifieds advertising and marketplace platform in New Zealand
- the acquisition of Revolution Prep, a leading national provider of online academic tutoring and test preparation services
- the acquisition of Nulo, a major national pet specialty food brand
- Apollo-managed funds and affiliates in the financing aspects of transactions, including:
- the acquisition of the Environmental Services business of GFL Environmental
- the launch of TenFifty Capital, a European focused commercial real estate lending platform for the small- and mid-market space
- ongoing finance matters for an investment manager specializing in creating and managing CLOs
- CC Capital and Motive Partners in the financing aspects of their acquisition of Wilshire Associates, a provider of investment consulting services
- Cerberus and its portfolio companies in the financing aspects of transactions, including for SubCom, a leading global supplier of subsea communications systems
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and its portfolio companies in the financing aspects of several transactions, including:
- the take-private acquisition of Covetrus, a global animal-health technology and services company
- the take-private acquisition of Focus Financial Partners, a leading global partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms
- the acquisition of the Industrial Businesses of Roper Technologies
- Clearlake Capital Group and its portfolio companies in several financing matters, including:
- the take-private acquisition of Dun & Bradstreet, a global commercial data and analytics company
- the take-private acquisition of Endurance International Group, a national information technology services company specializing in web hosting
- ongoing finance matters for Black Duck Software, a provider of applicable security solutions
- ongoing finance matters, and add-on acquisitions, for DigiCert, a leading global digital security company
- ongoing finance matters, and add-on acquisitions, for Victory Live, an event ticketing software company
- Elliott in the financing aspects of its take-private acquisition of Citrix, a global cloud computing company
- General Atlantic in the financing aspects of its strategic growth investment, through its BeyondNetZero fund, in PowerGEM, an advanced simulation software and technical services provider for North American power grid engineering and energy market efficiency
- HPS Investment Partners in the financing aspects of transactions, including:
- its strategic investment in Lido Advisors, a leading wealth advisory firm
- financing the acquisition of a provider of energy infrastructure indices and market intelligence
- Kelso & Company in the financing aspects of its acquisition of a majority interest in Inovar Packaging Group, a full-service provider of pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeves and flexibles
- KKR and its portfolio companies in the financing aspects of transactions, including for Hyperion, a provider of hard and super hard materials for metalworking and manufacturing process tools and products
- KPS in the financing aspects of transactions, including the carveout acquisition of a controlling stake in France-based Chargeurs Films de Protection SAS, aka Novacel, a leading global manufacturer of surface protection solutions
- LCatterton and its portfolio companies in the financing aspects of transactions, including:
- ongoing finance matters for, and the sale of, Cholula, a leading producer and distributor of hot sauce
- ongoing finance matters for OneSpaWorld, a global provider of health and wellness services and products on-board cruise ships and in premium destination resorts
- Nordic Capital in the financing aspects of its acquisition of Anaqua, a leading provider of innovation and intellectual property management technology solutions and services
- Warburg Pincus and its portfolio companies in the financing aspects of several transactions, including:
- the acquisition of Arise Virtual Solutions, a provider of on-demand, virtual customer experience and business process outsourcing solutions
- ongoing finance matters for NeoGov, a provider of comprehensive, public sector-focused HR software solutions
- ongoing finance matters for Chisholm Energy, an independent oil and gas company focused on exploring, acquiring and developing petroleum and natural gas properties
Corporate and Public Company
- Accelerate Diagnostics in connection with financing transactions
- Blackhawk Mining in connection with multiple financing transactions
- Booz Allen Hamilton in connection with financing transactions
- Carnival Corporation & plc in connection with financing transactions
- Eaton Corporation in the financing aspects of the separation and combination of its Mobility Unit with Dana Incorporated via a Reverse Morris Trust transaction (pending)
- Equitable Holdings in the financing aspects of its all-stock merger with Corebridge Financial, a major national provider of retirement solutions and insurance products (pending)
- Sun Life Financial in the financing aspects of its acquisition of Bell Partners, a leading multifamily real estate investment manager and vertically integrated property management business (pending)
- An electric vehicle charging network company in connection with financing transactions
- A global accessories and jewelry retailer in connection with financing transactions
Restructuring
- Sungard Availability Services and its affiliates in the financing aspects of its chapter 11 cases and exit financing, which received chapter 11 approval in less than 20 hours
- An ad hoc group of noteholders in the financing aspects of the chapter 11 cases of Quorum Health Care Services and its affiliates and junior DIP financing
- Ascena Retail Group and its affiliates in the financing aspects of its chapter 11 cases and exit financing
*Includes matters handled prior to joining Paul, Weiss
