Vithil Dabee advised Sankaty Advisors, the independently managed credit affiliate of Bain Capital, in connection with the acquisition of a portfolio of loans and other securities from J.P. Morgan’s Global Special Opportunities Group. The portfolio contained mezzanine loans in North America and Europe, as well as loans and related special situations investments in Australia and across Asia, with an aggregate value of approximately $1.3 billion. This acquisition follows Sankaty Advisors’ other recent purchases of loan portfolios from Irish Bank Resolution Capital, Lloyds Banking Group and CapitalSource.

This transaction represents the biggest portfolio takeover yet by Sankaty Advisors, which sees the opportunity to soak up more from European banks shedding assets to meet regulatory requirements. “This is another attractive addition to our platform as we continue to identify portfolios around the world where we can be a provider of patient capital and a helpful, value-added lender to and investor in high quality companies,” said Jonathan S. Lavine, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Sankaty Advisors. “We are continuing to see significant opportunities to invest by leveraging the skills of our global credit team to diligence portfolios by geography, by industry and by borrower resulting in a diverse array of investment opportunities.”

Kirkland & Ellis acted as English counsel to Sankaty on this transaction.