Richard Grice is a partner in the Global Finance & Debt Products Group. He previously served an eight-year term as leader of the group and currently serves on the firm’s Financial Advisory Committee. Mr. Grice’s practice focuses on the representation of domestic and foreign commercial banks, underwriters and debt issuers in a variety of financings, including leveraged buyouts and other acquisition financings, public debt issues, private placements, cross-border financings, recapitalizations and various asset-based financings. He also represents creditors and debtors in pre-bankruptcy restructurings and Chapter 11 proceedings.
Mr. Grice has been recognized by his peers as one of the foremost lawyers in his area of expertise, including top ranking in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and a listing in Super Lawyers magazine since its inception, and he has been voted one of The Best Lawyers in America for well over a decade.
- Represented Synovus Bank as agent bank in the restructuring of approximately $500 million of debt of the Sea Island Company and in connection with the subsequent sale of the resort through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.
- Represents Regions Bank as the administrative agent in numerous acquisition financings for sponsor-led transactions in the health care sector.
- Represented Graphic Packaging Corporation, an Atlanta-based public company, in connection with its $1.3 billion of debt financing for the acquisition of Altivity, LLC, a portfolio company of Texas Pacific Group, and in connection with its $2 billion credit agreement refinancing.
- Represented Sally Beauty, a worldwide retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies, in connection with its $400 million asset-based revolver and in connection with its issuance of $750 million of senior notes.
- Represents a large regional financial institution in the creation of its loan sale financing program and in numerous seller-financings of various loan portfolios.
- Represented the administrative agent and letter of credit bank at the height of the financial crisis in connection with a $319 million refinancing and conversion of certain tax-exempt auction rate securities into tax-exempt variable rate demand securities issued by a municipal financing authority and supported by a receivables securitization program sponsored by an operator of 37 hospitals in 10 states.
- Represented a leading distributor of health care products in its $400 million asset-based loan facility and in connection with its issuance of $250 million of senior notes.
- Represented a southeastern "bundled" telecommunications provider in its successful "prepackaged" bankruptcy proceeding relating to $444 million in high-yield bonds and approximately $55 million in senior secured bank debt; the “prepack” resulted in a debt reduction of approximately $250 million for approximately a 19 percent equity interest in the company.
- Represented a project sponsor in connection with the $200 million project financing of certain mining operations in the Amazon Basin, Brazil; coordinated complex debt and equity participations from U.S., French, German, Japanese and Brazilian investors, including significant Brazilian pre-export secured financings from Credit Lyonnais (New York and Paris offices), Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank AG (Munich office) and Sumitomo Corporation (New York and Tokyo offices).
- Represented a major Atlanta-based telecommunications company in connection with over $2 billion of bank financing for certain of its Latin American properties.
- Represented an equipment lessor/vendor in connection with a multitranche $150 million leasing facility of computer hardware to a technology concern.
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Alston & Bird served as legal counsel to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Ebix, Inc., a leading international supplier of on-demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry, in a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co. in an $820 million transaction, where Ebix shareholders will receive $20 per share in cash.
April 30, 2013
In the Press
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Alston & Bird’s Finance Group moved into the top 20 of the 2012 Legal League Tables distributed by Thomson Reuters, both on the U.S. borrower and lender sides by volume.
January 22, 2013
In the Press
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One hundred and forty-seven Alston & Bird attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. The publication is universally regarded as among the few definitive guides to legal excellence, and its rankings are based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 36,000 leading attorneys cast almost 4.4 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas.
September 18, 2012
In the Press
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June 7, 2012
In the Press
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September 12, 2011
In the Press
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July 5, 2011
In the Press
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August 30, 2010
In the Press
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June 11, 2010
In the Press
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"To EBITDA or Not to EBITDA: Defining the Key Metric in Loan Documentation," Georgia State Bar “Secured Lending” Seminar, January 2012.
January 2012
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"Influenza in the Debt Capital Markets," Atlanta Business Magazine, October 2007.
October 2007
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"Green Currency: Financing and Perfection of Kyoto Emission Reductions," International Financial Law Review, September 2007.
September 2007
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"CFO's: Beware the Dreaded Make-Whole,” Financial Executives International Magazine, 2003.
April 2003
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"Brazil Eases Route for Pre-Export Credits," International Financial Law Review, January 1998.
January 1998
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"Deposit Accounts and Article Nine Proceeds: Certain Dangers for Secured Creditors," Secured Lender magazine, March-April 1993.
March-April 2003
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"Georgia's Usury Laws and Interest on Interest: The Need to Transcend the 19th Century," Georgia State University Law Review, Fall 1991.
Fall 1991
Past Events
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September 13, 2012
Event
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January 30, 2009
Seminar