Overview
David K. Hong is a partner in the Financial Restructuring group at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s New York office.
With his broad-based knowledge in both cash and synthetic credit products, David advises sophisticated investors and corporations in identifying and implementing creative liability management transactions, bespoke credit transactions, opportunistic private credit financing transactions and CDS transactions.
David has been involved in the design and implementation of some of the most complex liability management transactions, such as Envision Healthcare, West Marine and WernerCo. He represents ad hoc groups of creditors in stressed and distressed situations and advises investment managers on complex, bespoke and structured financing transactions by helping to formulate financing opportunities within the parameters of existing debt covenants.
Prior to joining Paul Hastings, David was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. Prior to Kirkland, he was a senior investment counsel at King Street Capital Management, a leading global credit-oriented investment firm, where he played a critical role in identifying legal value drivers, structuring private credit and derivative transactions, and co-leading many of the firm’s most successful and high-profile stressed and distressed investments.
David also has extensive experience in CDS, having been a member of ISDA’s CSC leadership team and playing a key role in the structuring, drafting and the implementation of the various rules governing CDS since 2008, including the Determinations Committee rules, the Big Bang Protocol, the 2014 Definitions and most recently, the 2019 NTCE Supplement.
Representations
Prior to joining Paul Hastings, David advised on the following transactions:
- West Marine, Inc., a leading omnichannel provider in the marine aftermarket, in series of comprehensive recapitalization transactions involving the uptiering of certain debt obligations, debt-for-equity conversion, new money financings and maturity extensions that enhanced liquidity, extended maturities, materially deleveraged the balance sheet and reduced cash needed for debt service.
- Werner International, a leader in ladders and manufacturer of climbing products and fall protection equipment, in a liquidity enhancing sponsor-led incremental term loan transaction.
- Werner International in a series of comprehensive recapitalization transactions involving the refinancing of certain existing debt with new money and an uptier exchange of certain existing debt obligations that enhanced liquidity and extended maturities.
- Envision Healthcare, a leading national medical group, in a series of ground-breaking liability management transactions involving a new money financing at unrestricted subsidiaries, repurchases and/or exchanges of existing debt obligations and uptiering of certain other debt obligations that enhanced liquidity, extended maturities, materially deleveraged the balance sheet and reduced cash needed for debt service.
- Rite Aid Corporation in its Chapter 11 debtor-in-possession financing.
- Careismatic Brands, Inc., a leading medical apparel retailer, in its Chapter 11 debtor-in-possession financing.
- URS, industry leader in providing vehicle and heavy-haul transportation services, in a comprehensive out of court debt for equity recapitalization transaction that fully eliminated all of URS’s funded debt.
- Värde Partners as a second lien secured term loan lender to IAMGOLD Corporation, an intermediate gold producer and developer.
- Byju's Alpha Inc. ad hoc group of term lenders.
- Talen Energy Corporation ad hoc group of unsecured creditors.
- Viking Global Investors in a unique unsecured convertible bridge loan to a growth company.
- L Catterton in the out of court restructuring of a consumer product company.
- Angelo Gordon in a cross-border direct financing to a growth company.
- BC Credit in a direct financing to a growth company.
- HBK Capital Management in various CDS transactions.
- Davidson Kemper in a special situation transaction driven by existing bond covenants.
- Various other fund managers in the review and analysis of opportunistic credit opportunities.
While at King Street Capital Management, David advised on some of the most complex restructuring and liability management transactions, including the restructurings or bankruptcies of:
- Caesars Entertainment;
- Lehman Brothers;
- Energy Futures Holdings;
- Pacific Drilling restruturing;
- Valaris;
- Garrett Motion; and
- Chesapeake Energy Corporation.
In addition, David represented King Street in various direct lending/financing transactions and bespoke CDS transactions.
Involvement
- Member, ISDA's CDS Definitions Drafting Committee, 2009, 2014 and 2018
- Member, ISDA's Credit Steering Committee Leadership Group
- Vice Chair, MFA's Derivatives and Swaps Committee