Chris Poggi represents major financial institutions, private equity sponsors and companies in connection with the design and negotiation of specialized finance structures, with a focus on whole-business securitization and ABS backed by infrastructure assets and media assets such as motion pictures and music publishing rights. He regularly advises clients in connection with complex, high-profile securitizations involving esoteric assets such as fiber broadband network assets, film rights, music and other intellectual property royalties, and restaurant and other franchised business revenues. Chris has long-standing experience bringing first-of-their-kind rated securitized bond offerings to market and through to a successful close.
Experience
- Represented Aquiline Capital Partners in connection with a loan to Cornerstone Financing, an insurance and investment funding company.
- Represented Frontier Communications in its inaugural securitization of $2.1 billion in fiber network revenue backed notes, representing the largest primary fiber securitization offering in history and the first of its kind for a public fiber-to-the-premises telecom company.
- Represented Sycamore Partners in connection with the bridge financing for its acquisition of The Goddard School, a leading franchisor of premium early childhood education centers across the United States, and the subsequent $420 million whole-business securitization bond offering backed by Goddard’s franchise and brand assets.
- Represented Amarok (f/k/a Electric Guard Dog) in multiple 4(a)(2) notes offerings backed by its proprietary perimeter security systems and related customer contract revenues .
- Represented a major private equity firm in connection with numerous whole-business securitization offerings and bridge financings for their iconic restaurant and other franchise brands, including CKE Restaurants (owner of Carl’s Jr. and Hardees), ServiceMaster Brands, Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, Sonic Drive-Ins, Primrose Schools and Massage Envy.*
- Represented Guggenheim Securities as underwriter or initial purchaser in connection with multiple innovative 144A and 4(a)(2) ABS offerings backed by portfolios of music publishing rights owned by Crescendo Music, MusiCapital, Iconic Music Group and Tempo Music.*
- Represented MRC Entertainment’s dick clark productions in connection with multiple offerings of securitized notes backed by revenues from the future production of five annual live event television programs: Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the American Music Awards, the American Country Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards and the Golden Globes.*
- Represented a major insurer as investor in notes issued by Larry Levinson Productions to finance made-for-television movies.*
- Represented the initial purchasers in connection with multiple issuances of securitized notes backed by revenues from the 700+ films in the Miramax film library, in the first film securitization closed after the 2008-2010 financial crisis.*
- Represented Ambac Assurance Corporation in major structured financings of film assets of more than $3 billion in the aggregate for The Weinstein Company, Marvel Studios, Universal Studios, Inc. and DreamWorks.*
*Experience prior to joining Ropes & Gray