Case Study
Termination of an existing interest rate hedge
Summary
A recent example of how we successfully advised a European financial sponsor on terminating an existing debt hedge at exit.Background
- A highly successful exit (more than 3x return) from a European financial sponsor to a strategic buyer.
- The existing debt was fully repaid at company level by the new owner shortly after closing.
- The existing debt, hedged with interest rate swaps, was provided by a pool of banks. All swaps were deep in-the-money (i.e. asset for the company).
- Our client had the right to terminate the interest rate swaps by the banks.
- The client received an un-competitive offer to terminate the swaps.
Our Approach
- We provided independent pricings/valuations for the swaps.
- We analysed termination/x-value adjustment (XVA) charges that were potentially applicable to the trades,
- We negotiated termination costs in line with market practice.
- We co-ordinated the termination process.
Benefits
- Transparency on XVAs. XVAs are too often passed on to clients, who are charged without much transparency.
- Large savings for the client on the termination costs of the existing hedging instruments (more than 7x Chatham fee).
- Fair and independent termination process for both parties (New owner and the seller).
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About the author
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Benoit Duhil de Benaze
Managing Director
Hedging and Capital MarketsPrivate Equity | London
Benoit Duhil de Benaze is a member of Chatham’s European Private Equity team. He helps clients with their risk management, from FX deal-contingent hedges in multibillion, cross-border M&A to large interest rate financing/ refinancing situations.
