Bill Gray practices bankruptcy law and focuses on representing financial institutions on bankruptcy mergers and acquisitions and complex restructurings. He actively represents DIP lenders, asset-based lenders and providers of Chapter 11 exit financing. Bill spearheaded the effort of a group of investors to form a DIP lending facility in a major telecommunications bankruptcy, which included the development of equity kicker provisions in the event of a successful emergence from Chapter 11. He is presently acting as special counsel to the Nortel (US) companies in their Chapter 11 reorganization cases. He advised Cosmetic Essence Inc. in its out-of-court debt restructuring and equity recapitalization in 2011.
Bill regularly advises banks and other financial institutes on distressed investments and in Chapter 11 cases. Bill headed the Torys’ team that represented the creditors committee of Magnolia Energy, Inc., earning a 100% distribution on account of general creditor claims. He regularly represents Ticketmaster on debtor/creditor matters, including in the Consolidated Freight and K-Mart Chapter 11 cases.
Bill has represented venture capital investors, sellers, and strategic acquirors of distressed properties and companies in workout scenarios, prepackaged bankruptcies and asset acquisitions in bankruptcy. He advised Broadway Trading, LLC in its pre-negotiated chapter 11 sale to Schonfeld Securities. He has advised a group of limited partners in the Sun Healthcare bankruptcies in connection with the purchase of a number of health care facilities owned by affiliates of Sun Healthcare, and Cascades in its bankruptcy acquisitions of the consumer products division of Plainwell and of American Tissue.
He was also heavily involved on behalf of major financial institutions in a number of restructuring matters arising out of the collapse of the Russian economy in August 1998. For example, he represented certain investment funds, managed by McGinnis Advisors, that had invested in Russia-based derivative securities in their Chapter 11 cases pending in Texas. Bill also represented Credit Lyonnais in the restructuring of the indebtedness of Long-Term Capital Management.