Mayer Brown advised on three transactions named winners at the 2026 Global M&A Network's 18th Annual Turnaround Atlas Awards, which recognize excellence in restructuring and turnaround transactions. The winning transactions are:
Cross Border Turnaround of the Year (Large/Mega): Altice
France Holdings S.A.
Mayer Brown advised the Altice Group on the historic restructuring
involving more than $28 billion of debt for Altice France S.A. and
Altice France Holdings S.A. Altice France is the second largest
telecommunications provider in France. After a years' long
negotiation, Altice France finalized a financial restructuring plan
with its creditors, enabling the group to reduce its debt by a
total of $10 billion, bringing net debt to $18 billion. It will
also secure the group's medium-term future by extending debt
maturities from 2025 to 2028. Furthermore, it will allow Altice
France to ensure a sustainable future for the group and continue
providing cutting-edge telecommunications services to over 50
million customers throughout France. The restructuring of Altice
France S.A. was implemented under an accelerated safeguard
proceeding in France. This is one of the largest financial
restructurings ever undertaken in the French and European markets.
The Mayer Brown team was led by Paris Tax partners Laurent Borey,
Nicolas Danan, and Louis Nayberg, and included New York Tax partner
Jason Bazar.
Cross Border Distressed M&A of the Year (Large):
Exela Technologies prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring and
acquisition by XBP Europe Holdings
Mayer Brown represented PNC Bank, N.A. as administrative agent for
both the pre-petition and post-petition securitization programs of
Exela Technologies, Inc. and certain affiliates in connection with
the company's Chapter 11 filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for
the Southern District of Texas. As of the petition date, Exela
carried approximately $1.4 billion in funded debt. The
post-petition securitization program, harmonized with the delayed
draw term loan DIP Facility, was trailblazing in structure
(including a rolled-up pre-petition emergency bridge financing
which primed subsequently approved DIP liens and DIP superpriority
claims) and employed the latest state-of-the-art DIP securitization
technology pioneered by Mayer Brown. The Mayer Brown team was led
by Restructuring partner Brian Trust and Banking & Finance
partners Zach Carrier and Evan DeCresce.
Out of Court Restructuring of the Year (Large): Block
216 Tower "Consensual Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure"
Restructuring
Mayer Brown represented a REIT holding senior debt and a preferred
equity investment in the restructuring and deed in-lieu of
foreclosure transfer of a mixed-use project in Portland, Oregon
comprised of a 251-key luxury hotel, 132 luxury condominiums,
159,000 square-feet of Class-A office space, and 11,000 square-feet
of retail space involving the transfer and continuation of the
hotel franchise agreement and navigating and resolving a myriad of
intercreditor and other stakeholder-related issues and attendant
injunctive litigation matters. Mayer Brown advised and represented
the REIT through each phase of the matter and attendant litigation,
including in defeating a mezzanine lender's request for
injunctive relief that would have stayed and prevented the
restructuring, with the matter ultimately culminating, as noted, in
the negotiation and consummation of a consensual deed-in-lieu of
foreclosure transaction for the entire project. The Mayer Brown
team was led by Restructuring partner Tom Kiriakos, Real Estate
partner Jeffrey O'Neale, Banking & Finance partner Eric
Reilly, and Litigation & Dispute Resolution partner Jean-Marie
Atamian.
Learn more about Mayer Brown's Restructuring practice.