Paul Hastings advises on the first publicly offered European CMBS since the credit crunch

June 28, 2011

London, UK (June 28, 2011) Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (Europe) LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that it advised Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch in connection with the £302 million Commercial Mortgage Backed Securitisation ("CMBS") by DECO 2011-CSPK which completed today.

The transaction is the first CMBS that has been placed into the market in Europe since 2007. It has been closely monitored by market participants as it is generally considered to represent the re-launch of the CMBS market in Europe and is the first European transaction implementing CMBS 2.0 principles and structural improvements to the CMBS structures before the credit crunch.

The new CMBS issuance is backed by a £302 million loan made to Blackstone to fund its £480 million acquisition of the Chiswick Park Estate, a grade A business park in Chiswick in West London. Blackstone's acquisition was also funded in part by a £60 million mezzanine loan funded by GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund.

Paul Hastings assisted Deutsche Bank in the preparation and negotiation of the transaction documents and the implementation of CMBS 2.0.

Partner Charles Roberts says: This is a landmark transaction for the European CMBS market. Hopefully, this transaction will lead the way to the recovery of the CMBS market in Europe. The success of this transaction indicates that the CMBS market has the ability to re-emerge as a significant source of debt capital for the European commercial real estate market.

The Paul Hastings team is being led by partners Charles Roberts and Conor Downey in London, assisted by tax partner Arun Birla and associates Miles Flynn, Jennie Dorsaint, Jiten Tank, Tony Green, Sam Kakati, and trainee Sarah Clarke.

The deal comprises three publicly offered tranches. A £235 million tranche has been rated AAA with a coupon of 1.75 per cent over LIBOR, and there are two higher loan to value tranches of £30 million, rated AA with a coupon of 2.75 per cent over LIBOR, and £37 million, rated A-/A tranche with a coupon of 3.75 per cent over LIBOR.

Chiswick Park in west London is one of Britains largest office parks with nine office buildings let to companies such as Tullow Oil and Paramount Pictures on a 33-acre site.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker is a leading global law firm with offices in Asia, Europe, and the United States. We provide innovative legal solutions to financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Please visit www.paulhastings.com for more information.