Strategic Value Partners and Oaktree Capital Management have co-led a US$600 million asset-backed lending facility to support QVC's completed financial restructuring, with funds managed by Strategic Value Partners, LLC and its affiliates joining Oaktree in the transaction. The facility accompanies QVC's emergence from Chapter 11, a process that cut the company's total debt by more than US$5 billion.
Latham & Watkins LLP advised Strategic Value Partners, Oaktree Capital Management and other financing sources on the deal. Stelios Saffos, Global Chair of Latham's Capital Markets and Hybrid Capital practices, led the finance team alongside Dan Seale, Global Chair of the Banking & Private Credit Practice, and Jennifer Ezring, Global Chair of the Asset-Based Lending Group.
Partner Victor Ludwig and associates Tulika Sinha, Kay Han Lee and Omar Adel also worked on the financing. A separate restructuring team, led by Andrew Parlen, US Chair of the Restructuring Practice, included partner Joe Zujkowski and associate Andrew Rudolph. Partner Brian Rock advised on uniform commercial code matters, Parag Patel advised on payments regulatory matters, and Bora Bozkurt, with associate Sam Yang, handled tax advice.
QVC has installed a new leadership team as part of the restructuring, aimed at accelerating growth and expanding live shopping across social platforms, streaming applications, e-commerce sites, retail stores and television networks. The US$600 million facility gives that expansion a financing base to draw on, coming directly after the more than US$5 billion reduction in total debt achieved through Chapter 11.
QVC emerges from the process with less debt and a new facility to draw on, both central to the leadership team's plans for expanding live shopping across social platforms, streaming apps, e-commerce sites, retail stores and television networks.
