Lender Cooperation Agreements in Syndicated Loans: Key Terms, Objectives and Obstacles; Advantages and Disadvantages
New Defensive Strategy for Lenders to Protect Their Position in the Capital Structure
Recording of a 90-minute premium CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will explore the recent surge in the use of cooperation agreements among lenders in syndicated loans. The panel will discuss the scope and purpose of a cooperation agreement, review the advantages and disadvantages for lenders, and provide guidance on negotiating and structuring the terms of these agreements to protect lenders from the risks of creditor-on-creditor violence with liability management transactions involving distressed borrowers.
Outline
- Background: current market conditions and the increase in LMEs
- Purpose and scope of a cooperation agreement
- Cooperation agreements vs. restructuring support agreements, participation agreements, and plan support agreements
- Timing and scenarios when cooperation agreements come into play
- Key terms, conditions, and limitations
- Advantages and disadvantages
- Obstacles to cooperation and key factors that contribute to the success of a cooperation agreement
- Transfer restrictions and their impact on loan trades
- Enforceability issues in connection with a borrower's plan of reorganization in bankruptcy
- Antitrust considerations
- LSTA Market Advisory
- Practitioner pointers and key takeaways
Benefits
The panel will address these and other key considerations:
- How does a cooperation agreement prevent creditor-on-creditor violence when a borrower has undertaken an LME?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of cooperation agreements?
- When should a lender consider joining a cooperation agreement?
- What are the key considerations and negotiation strategies with cooperation agreements?
- What are the potential enforceability and antitrust issues relating to cooperation agreements?
Faculty

Matthew D. Kent
Partner, Co-Chair of the Antitrust Team
Alston & Bird
Mr. Kent is co-leader of Alston & Bird’s Antitrust Team and a partner in the firm’s Litigation... | Read More
Mr. Kent is co-leader of Alston & Bird’s Antitrust Team and a partner in the firm’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group who focuses on bet-the-company antitrust litigation and counseling. Mr. Kent and his team have recovered nearly $1 billion in settlements for clients. He has defended Fortune 100 companies alleged to have participated in global price-fixing cartels in DOJ criminal investigations and follow-on civil litigation. Mr. Kent has a deep experience with the competition issues at the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry and has litigated cases in federal courts throughout the country. Mr Kent advises clients on antitrust issues related to joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions, including filings under the HSR Act and international premerger notification regimes. He assists clients with substantive merger reviews by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and foreign competition authorities in a host of industries.
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Ken Rothenberg
Partner, Chair of the Distressed Debt & Claims Trading Team
Alston & Bird
Mr. Rothenberg leads the Distressed Debt & Claims Trading Team, a niche and complex field requiring particular... | Read More
Mr. Rothenberg leads the Distressed Debt & Claims Trading Team, a niche and complex field requiring particular legal and financial expertise. With over 20 years’ experience, he is one of the most trusted and recognized authorities on bank debt and claims trading matters. Mr. Rothenberg’s advice is sought by the most sophisticated market participants in the par and distressed trading market for broadly syndicated loans, private credit, distressed securities, bankruptcy claims, claims arising from litigation proceedings, and other unique trading opportunities. He represents some of the largest and most well-known investment banks, market makers, credit funds, CLOs, and buyside entities in all aspects of loan and claims trading. Clients look to Mr. Rothenberg in understanding primary and secondary market standards, conventions, and documentation for trading liquid and illiquid par and distressed bank loans and claims. He is also an active participant in the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) and the Loan Market Association (LMA), sitting on numerous committees. Mr. Rothenberg is a regular speaker on topics relating to primary and secondary loan market transactions and regularly assists the LSTA in updating its loan trading documentation utilized in the primary and secondary market.
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Robert J. Waldner
Senior Counsel
Crowell & Moring
Financial institutions participating in the market for troubled and nonperforming loans and financial claims trust Mr.... | Read More
Financial institutions participating in the market for troubled and nonperforming loans and financial claims trust Mr. Waldner’s transactional guidance and market insights. He represents investment funds, banks, and other financial institutions that trade commercial and industrial bank loans, distressed securities, bankruptcy and litigation claims, and other illiquid assets. Mr. Waldner’s transactional practice concentrates on trade structure and documentation as they relate to the allocation of credit risk in the fixed-income trading markets. He has been engaged by investors seeking to acquire strategic positions in companies undergoing financial restructuring or in bankruptcy, and he often counsels these clients on reviewing and analyzing credit documentation and related reorganization or bankruptcy materials. He also works with several broker-dealers in support of their secondary loan and claims trading desks. Mr. Waldner has assisted a wide range of financial clients in creating trading solutions for illiquid assets in North America, Europe, and Asia. He focuses on the preparation and negotiation of primary and secondary loan and claims trading documentation, including agreements adopted under the Loan Syndications and Trading Association, Inc. (LSTA), and Loan Market Association regimes and other bespoke purchase and sale contracts as well as private securities trading documentation. Mr. Waldner is an active participant in the LSTA and has contributed to the evolution of its suite of standard trading documents as a member of numerous LSTA working groups.
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