Paul Sroka
Paul advises major Australian and international financiers and corporate borrowers in a number of key areas including corporate finance, acquisition and project finance, asset and structured finance and debt capital markets. Through a four year secondment in Hong Kong earlier in his career, Paul also has considerable knowledge and experience working with Asian-based clients and counter-parties.
Paul has acted in a broad range of domestic and cross-border secured and unsecured finance transactions utilising various recourse and multi-lender structures including syndicated (including section 128F compliant structures) and club loans, ‘linked’ bilateral facilities and risk participations, both in the mid-market/corporate and institutional banking sectors.
Paul has presented seminars for lawyers and bankers on various topics including shareholder ‘whitewash’, multi-lender loan structures, security and practical tips and traps in everyday banking intercourse. He has also drafted practical legal guides to assist corporate bankers to document finance transactions.
Paul has been named in Best Lawyers™ Australia for Asset Finance law, Banking and Finance Law, Debt Capital Markets Law, Derivatives, Project Finance and Development Practice, and Structured Finance Law. He has also been named a leading Banking & Finance Lawyer by Doyle’s Guide.
Experience
Paul’s recent experience includes:
- ANZ, CBA and Westpac: Advised in a club financing of one of Australia’s largest operators in the public transport industry, which featured a multi-layered security sharing structure with the borrower’s asset financiers;
- ANZ: Advising on secured multiple option facilities to support the initial public offering of QANTM Intellectual Property Ltd, the owner of intellectual property firms Davies Collison Cave and Freehills Patent Attorneys;
- Hospitality: Advised a major Australian trading bank in providing secured multiple option facilities including acquisition facilities to support Dixon Hospitality’s acquisition of Beer DeLuxe and Keystone hotel and restaurant venues in NSW and Victoria;
- Healthcare: Advised a major Australian trading bank in the MBO via scheme of arrangement of clinical waste company SteriHealth Ltd, advised the APN Property-managed Generation Healthcare REIT on the financing aspects of its acquisition from, and lease back to, RSL Care of three aged-care facilities and advised a major Australian trading bank in construction and working capital facilities for aged care facilities in Victoria operated by private and NFP operators;
- Property: Advised Tune Hotels in property investment for their hotel in Swanston St, Carlton, advised a mezzanine financier in relation to construction facilities for a 68 storey residential tower at 568 Collins St, Melbourne and advised Peet Funds Management as the responsible entity for Peet Greenvale Syndicate in acquisition and construction facilities for a residential land subdivision in Greenvale (and the refinancing of those facilities) and other property syndicate financings managed by Peet;
- Listed retail companies: Advised on several refinancings of multi-currency syndicated corporate and acquisition facilities for two ASX 200 listed consumer discretionary companies;
- Cobar Consolidated Resources: Advised on its syndicated project financing of the Wonawinta Silver mine in NSW;
- Club deals: Advised the club financiers to the Australian finance subsidiary of PACCAR, Inc. and for Rip Curl Group;
- Heinz Australia: Advised on facilities for its acquisition of Golden Circle;
- Wesfarmers: Advised the lead arrangers/underwriters in the club (later restructured as syndicated) financing for Wesfarmers’ bid for Coles by way of scheme of arrangement; and
- Lehman Brothers Australia (and its predecessor Grange Securities): Advised the arranger of several secured domestic bond issues by Victorian and New South Wales local governments and by subordinated and unsubordinated debt programs for Australian credit unions.