William B. Beekman is a retired partner. Until his retirement, he was a senior finance partner with experience in a broad range of complex financings, including acquisition financings and other leveraged lending, structured financings, mezzanine investments and equipment financings. Mr. Beekman is a member of the American Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He was recognized as a leading banking & finance lawyer by Chambers Global (2015) and Chambers USA (2015).
Mr. Beekman was also recommended by The Legal 500 US (2013-2015) in the areas of bank lending, structured finance and capital markets debt offerings. He was a contributing author of The Private Equity Primer: The Best of the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report and the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report. Since 1988, he has been a Fellow of the American College of Investment Counsel. Mr. Beekman is an Honorary Trustee of The New York Historical Society and a member of the Board of Trustees of the MacDowell Colony. He is a director of the American Friends of the National Gallery, London and the North American Co-President and a director of FRAME (the French-America Museum Exchange). He is also the Secretary of the Paris Review Foundation and a member of the Library Council of the Museum of Modern Art.
Mr. Beekman joined Debevoise in 1980 and became a partner in 1989. He received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1971 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1980, where he was a member of the Yale Law Journal.
Experience:
- Morgan Stanley Private Equity in the financing aspects of its acquisition of Cadence Education, a leading provider of early childhood education.
- American Seafoods, the largest harvester of wild-caught fish for human consumption in the United States, in its completed deleveraging recapitalization.
- Stone Point Capital in its significant equity investment in specialty insurance broker Alliant Insurance Services, with KKR retaining a significant equity investment in the business.
- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in the financing aspects of its $12 billion acquisition of GE Capital’s sponsor lending business, including Antares Capital, the leading lender to middle market private equity sponsors in the U.S.
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in the financing aspects of its acquisition of a 42.5% stake in Univar in a sponsored recapitalization transaction valuing Univar at $4.2 billion.
- Oaktree PPIP Fund, a $4.6 billion fund making investments in CMBS under the U.S. Treasury Department’s Public-Private Investment Program.
- OCM Mezzanine Fund II and related entities in a multicurrency facility of up to $275 million secured by a portfolio of mezzanine loan investments.
- Multiple special purpose entities organized by a well known private equity sponsor in secured multicurrency credit facilities totaling in excess of $750 million to finance the purchase of secured and other debt of U.S. and European LBO borrowers.
- Kelso & Company in the financing aspects of a majority investment in Cronos, including a $765 million revolving credit facility.
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in the financing aspects of its 46% investment in JohnsonDiversey, a transaction valued at $2.6 billion.
- The Carlyle Group in its $3.3 billion acquisition of Getty Images.
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in the financing aspects of the $7.1 billion acquisition of US Foods.
- Discovery Communications in the $1.5 billion financing for the acquisition from Cox Communications of a 25% interest in Discovery for cash and certain assets, including the Travel Channel.
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch Private Equity in the senior credit and high yield financings of the $15 billion acquisition of The Hertz Corporation.
- American Seafoods, a Centre Partners portfolio company, with its financings.
- Fisher Scientific in its credit facility and customer accounts receivable securitization.
AEA Mezzanine Funding and its parent, AEA Mezzanine Fund, in a structured financing of mezzanine investments. - American Funds Distributors and its parent, Capital Research and Management Company, in a securitization of mutual fund distribution fees.
- A group of institutional investors in a financing of certain Visa and MasterCard payment flows for a Panamanian bank.
- Delta Air Lines in its 2004 out-of-court restructuring of a large portion of its aircraft fleet financings.
Education:
- Yale Law School, 1980, J.D.
- Harvard University, 1971, B.A.
Bar Admissions:
- New York
Cost
Rate : $$$
