Mayer Brown JSM advised The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) in connection with the restructuring of Mongolian Mining Corporation, which was named “Restructuring Deal of the Year” at the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) Asia Awards 2018.

Mongolian Mining, a Cayman Islands-incorporated company listed in Hong Kong, is a coking coal producer and exporter that was unable to service its debts following a drop in coal prices, which was driven by a combination of a fall in Chinese crude steel output, a wider slowdown in China’s economy and reduced infrastructure investment. The company had incurred more than US$760 million in offshore debt.

Mayer Brown JSM guided BNY Mellon, in its capacity as a trustee for various noteholders, through the various rounds of negotiation that led to an agreed non-binding commercial term sheet and legally binding restructuring support agreement sanctioned in the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong.

In such complex cross-border restructurings, Mayer Brown JSM is able to offer corporate trust providers a single platform to address debt capital markets, restructuring, Trust Indenture Act in the US and regulatory counsel. Through this deal, Mayer Brown JSM showed that it is one of the few global firms that has both the breadth of offering and the international platform to service the diverse expertise required on a transaction of this type.

The team was led by Hong Kong-based Corporate & Securities partner Jason T. Elder and included Financial Services Regulatory & Enforcement partner Mark Compton (London), Banking & Finance partner Jan Stewart (Chicago), Restructuring, Bankruptcy & Insolvency partner Matthew Wargin (Chicago) and Corporate & Securities partner Thomas Kollar (Hong Kong).

The annual awards, which took place on 1 March at the Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, recognize the distinct value that law firms across the industry provide for their clients and the innovative solutions they develop to carry out highly complex transactions.