Fried Frank Expands International Finance Practice with New Partner Mark Wesseldine to Join Firm in London

LONDON -

Fried Frank announced today that Mark Wesseldine will join the Firm’s finance practice as a partner and will be based in London. Mark specializes in leveraged finance transactions with broad experience in all financing disciplines. He was previously a partner at Allen & Overy.

Mark has extensive experience in leveraged acquisitions and other event driven financings. His practice includes advising lenders, investors and borrowers, including major financial institutions, financial sponsors and corporate entities, on a wide range of multi-jurisdictional leveraged buyouts and other complex financing and restructuring transactions.

“We are delighted to have someone of Mark’s caliber join the Firm as we continue to extend the depth of our global finance practice. He has worked on some of the largest and most high profile leveraged transactions in the European market,” said Valerie Ford Jacob, Fried Frank’s Chairperson.

“Mark brings his experience and expertise to a strong team who have been working on some of the most innovative and prominent transactions in the market, including advising on the largest European high yield transaction this year and the first ‘amend and extend’ bank amendments in Europe,” added Managing Partner, Justin Spendlove.

Fried Frank’s financing practice stands out because of its presence at all levels of the capital structure, working on some of the most sophisticated and complex deals on behalf of lead managers, arrangers and private equity sponsors. Clients include blue-chip corporations, financial institutions and private equity funds on a wide array of transactions, including merger and acquisition, mezzanine, and leveraged financing.

“As a result of the recent disruption to the financial markets, it is increasingly important for law firms to understand the debt market on both sides of the Atlantic and are able to apply this knowledge to transactions. Mark’s appointment is a key part of our commitment to building our international practice,” said Fried Frank’s Head of Finance, Bill Reindel.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 500 attorneys in offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Fried Frank lawyers regularly represent many of the world’s leading corporations and financial institutions. The Firm offers legal counsel on antitrust and competition; bankruptcy and restructuring; benefits and compensation; corporate matters, including asset management, capital markets, corporate governance, financings, mergers and acquisitions, and private acquisitions and private equity; energy, alternative energy and climate change; financial institutions; government investigations and regulatory counseling including internal investigations and monitoring, securities enforcement and regulation and white-collar criminal defense; insurance; intellectual property and technology; international trade; litigation including arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, commercial litigation, environmental litigation, government contracts, securities and shareholder litigation; real estate; tax; and trusts and estates. The Firm has an association with Huen Wong & Co. in Hong Kong. More information on Fried Frank can be found at www.friedfrank.com.

Source: Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

Joanne Walker, Director of Business Development, +1-212-859-4270, or +44-207-972-9626, Joanne.walker at friedfrank.com