Will Stoner

Partner, London

Biography

“Strong commercial mindset”
“Will Stoner – definitely a rising star in the restructuring space”
Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency, The Legal 500 UK 2022

Overview

Will is a partner in Firm's Financial Restructuring and Insolvency group in London.

Will has extensive experience advising companies, insolvency practitioners, banks, investment funds and other financial institutions on cross-border restructurings, special situations and distressed debt investments. His experience also includes involvement in leveraged finance transactions, general bank lending and capital markets transactions and disputes.

Will spent nine months on secondment to the legal department at Goldman Sachs from 2015 to 2016, advising on private credit, private equity and restructuring transactions. Will also spent six months on secondment to the Firm's New York office in 2019, advising on distressed investments and financial restructurings.

Bars and Courts
England and Wales
Education
LPC
BPP University
LLB
University College London
Languages
English
French

Experience

Nostrum
Representation of London-listed oil and gas company Nostrum Oil & Gas plc on the financial restructuring of its US$1.125 billion of senior unsecured notes via a UK scheme of arrangement.

Petra Diamonds
Representation of the ad hoc committee of bondholders of the US$650 million 2022 Notes in the financial restructuring of the diamond mining group, Petra Diamonds, with mines in South Africa and Tanzania.

Seadrill
Representation of the coordinating committee of agent banks and export credit agencies representing holders of US$5.6 billion of senior secured indebtedness across 12 credit facilities in connection with the restructuring of the liabilities and obligations of Seadrill Ltd., an offshore drilling rig operator and its affiliates. This follows the comprehensive restructuring in 2018, where White & Case advised the co-ordinating committee representing a bank group holding US$7.4 billion in secured debt. The result provided a significant structural improvement for senior lenders, the negotiation of settlements that attracted more than US$1 billion of new capital, and the re-profiling of Seadrill’s capital structure.

Facebook
Serving as a member of a team that handles UK insolvency matters for Facebook and the Facebook family of companies.

Logistics
Representation of the senior lenders to a European logistics group on its 2013 and 2016 restructurings.

Investment Fund Matters
Representation of several major credit-oriented investment funds and alternative asset managers on a range of distressed debt and performing investments.

African Bank
Representation of the committee of senior creditors on the restructuring of African Bank, the sixth largest bank in South Africa.

Globalworth
Representation of York Capital Management and Oak Hill Advisors on their investments in Globalworth Real Estate Investments Limited.

APCOA Parking
Representation of the Agent on the restructuring of the APCOA Parking Group, which was implemented through a scheme of arrangement.

KP1
Representation of GSO Capital Partners on the €215 million refinancing of the indebtedness of KP1, a leading French manufacturer of high performance prefabricated concrete products, and subsequent acquisition of the business.

Magyar Telecom
Representation of Magyar Telecom BV, a holding company of Invitel ZRT, the Hungarian telecoms company, on the restructuring of its €345 million high yield bonds.

Publications

Co-author of "The Lehman Brothers Administration: Scheme to the Rescue", White & Case, August 2018

Acknowledged co-author of "Schemes of Arrangement in Corporate Restructuring" by Christian Pilkington, Sweet & Maxwell, July 2017

Co-author of "The Cooperative Bank's Restructuring: Will This Be a Case of Lessons Learned?", Pratt's Journal of Bankruptcy Law, July/August 2013

Co-author of "Exclusion Clauses, Navigating the Minefield", White & Case Energy Series, December 2012