Global law firm Reed Smith has advised IPF Partners on the French law debt refinancing for French surgical technology group SpineGuard.

IPF Partners, a leading alternative financing provider focused on the European healthcare sector, provided the debt which has been used to refinance the existing debt provided by Norgine and fund the company’s growth. The transaction is structured as a private placement governed by French law and subscribed for by a foreign investor.

The Reed Smith team was led out of London by partner Monica Dupont-Barton and included finance associates Benjamin Vicentini and Thierry Pujol d’Andrébo in London and partner Fernand Arsanios in Paris. The Reed Smith office in New York was also involved.

Reed Smith partner Monica Dupont-Barton commented:

“This is our third deal for IPF Partners, after advising it on its first French private placement lending to French biotech group EOS Imaging S.A in January last year and an Irish financing in December. Private placements are an increasingly popular form of financing because they tend to be longer-dated than bank loans and quicker to issue than publicly traded bonds. 2015 saw the greatest ever deal flow in this area and we expect the trend to continue into 2016.”

Dechert Paris and New York acted as SpineGuard’s counsel.

ENDS

Note to editors:

About Reed Smith

Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm, with more than 1,800 lawyers in 26 offices throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.

For further information, please visit www.reedsmith.com or contact Annabelle Price (senior corporate communications executive) on +44 (0)20 3116 3787.