Commercial Lending

Chapman and Cutler's Commercial Lending Group represents a variety of state and federally chartered financial institutions, commercial finance companies, and domestic branch offices of banks chartered in Canada, Japan, France, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Chapman's commercial lending practice has been at the center of our firm's identity and culture since we were founded more than a century ago. We regularly negotiate deals ranging from single-lender unsecured loans to secured, syndicated credit facilities. We have a depth of experience when it comes to asset-based lending, agribusiness lending, and leveraged buyout financing.

The experience we have gained in many years of close collaboration with our clients gives firm attorneys a deep understanding of the business of commercial lending. Together with our clients we get deals done.

We work in specialized teams on behalf of our clients, keeping them involved through the lending process, from the initial structuring of the facilities through the negotiation of commitments, the drafting and negotiation of the loan documents, to the closing and beyond. In addition, our attorneys have extensive experience in debt restructurings and workouts, both inside and outside of bankruptcy.

Related Practices

Notable Engagements

Representative Transactions

• We served as counsel to an agent bank in a $400 million secured revolving credit facility in favor of a national credit card processing company. Facilities included two U.S. credit agreements and one Canadian credit agreement with common collateral and an inter-creditor arrangement.
• We served as counsel to an agent bank in a $500 million acquisition financing transaction in favor of a large high technology borrower. The transaction was structured with a reducing revolving facility tranche with a four-year tenor and a 364-day revolving facility tranche.
• Chapman and Cutler acted as counsel to an agent bank in a $210 million revolving credit facility for a West Coast grocery wholesale company secured by the working capital assets of the borrower and its subsidiaries.
• We were counsel to an agent bank in restructuring a $325 million revolving credit and term loan facility secured by all real and personal property of a biogenetic company and certain of its subsidiaries, including stock of foreign subsidiaries and intellectual property in various South American and European countries.
• The firm represented an agent bank in a $200 million, five/six-year secured revolving credit/term loan facility extended to a manufacturer of optical scanning and other technical equipment. The facility financed, in part, a significant dividend paid to equity-fund owners of the borrower.
• Chapman and Cutler acted as counsel to an agent bank in a $225 million revolving credit and standby letter of credit facility with a large semiconductor company and subsidiaries as co-borrowers. This engagement also involved negotiating a stand-alone $35 million multicurrency revolving credit facility.
• The firm was counsel to agent bank in a $175 million revolving credit and letter of credit facility for a large poultry processing company secured by a portion of its working capital assets.
• We served as counsel to an agent bank in a $197.5 million, four and one-half-year secured revolving credit and term loan facility for a multi-national manufacturer. The facility is available for borrowing in U.S. dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, and Swiss Francs.
• Chapman and Cutler acted as counsel to an agent bank in a U.S. $36 million three-year secured revolving credit and term loan facility and Cdn $10 million three-year secured revolving credit (asset-based/dominion of funds) to refinance indebtedness of a U.S. manufacturer and its Canadian subsidiary.
• We were counsel to an agent bank in an $80 million revolving credit and term loan facility for an international processor and secured by substantially all real and personal property of the borrower and its subsidiaries in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
• The firm was retained by an agent bank to negotiate a $50 million, three-year secured revolving credit deal (asset-based/dominion of funds basis) to refinance the indebtedness of a West Coast horticultural company. The capital structure included a separate second-lien term loan.
• The firm represented the agent bank in a $167 million secured revolving credit facility for a consumer finance company based in the South East.
• We served as counsel to the agent bank and collateral agent on $130 million secured credit facilities to a petroleum processor in connection with a cross-border Canadian income fund transaction.
• Chapman and Cutler attorneys were counsel to an agent bank in a $117.5 million asset-based revolving credit and term facility with a food processor secured by inventory, receivables, and other assets.
• We represented an agent bank in a $250 million term and revolving credit facility with a large high technology borrower.
• We served as counsel to an agent bank in a $105 million revolving credit, term loan, and letter of credit facility with a multinational construction company with domestic and foreign subsidiaries as co-borrowers. 
• The firm served as counsel to an agent bank in a $140 million unsecured revolving credit facility for a West Coast chemical company.
• As counsel to the agent bank, Chapman and Cutler attorneys negotiated a $130 million revolving credit facility for a sugar processor secured by substantially all personal property of the borrower and its subsidiaries.
• We represented an agent bank and collateral agent on a $45 million syndicated, secured revolving credit facility to a meat processor in connection with a cross-border Canadian income fund transaction.