Ropes & Gray boosts debt specialists team

 Mark Wesseldine has joined law firm Ropes & Gray as partner and will be responsible for overseeing and enhancing the firm’s debt, refinancing, restructuring and special situations division.

Wesseldine was previously partner at Fried Frank, and joins Ropes & Gray with over 10 years of experience in European leveraged finance markets and complex cross-border financing and restructuring. Prior to joining Fried Frank, he was a partner at Allen & Overy.

Wesseldine will be responsible for representing lenders, borrowers, private equity sponsors and specialist credit investors, and also acting for credit investors and special situation funds.

He will be based in London, and will report to chairman Brad Malt. He will also work alongside other key senior members, including Mike Goetz, co-head of the London office, and Jay Kim, partner and co-head of the firm’s global finance practice.

The aim is “to provide clients with a complete spectrum of services from banking and high yield through mezzanine, direct lending and special situations/restructuring, all operating as part of an integrated practice,” said Jay Kim, partner and co-head of the firm’s global finance practice.

Ropes & Gray has handled recent high-profile transactions including Goldman Sachs European Special Situations Group and TPG’s bid for a portfolio of 37 loan assets auctioned by Lloyds Bank. It was also involved in Liberty Global International’s financing of its $23.3 billion acquisition of Virgin Media. The firm even represented BlackRock on its acquisition of Swiss Re's private equity fund of funds business.