KathrynSutherland-Smith

Of Counsel

Sydney + 61.2.8272.0738 Melbourne + 61.3.9101.6800

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Kathryn Sutherland-Smith is an experienced insolvency and restructuring lawyer who has practiced in Australia and in the United States. Kathryn strives to provide clients with innovative commercial solutions but is also adept working in contentious and litigious situations. Over the past decade, Kathryn has structured and implemented multibillion dollar global reorganizations through schemes of arrangement, external administrations, and proceedings under chapters 11 and 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. She also has handled complex insolvency litigation and represented debtors and creditors in an array of out-of-court restructuring matters, including distressed M&A deals, capital markets transactions, and refinancings.

Kathryn works with private credit institutions, ad hoc creditor groups, companies experiencing financial distress, and external administrators. Her experience covers an array of industries including energy and resources, aviation, transport and logistics, real estate, financial services, and digital assets.

Highlights of Kathryn's company-side experience prior to joining Jones Day include representing: Hertz in its US$19 billion global restructuring; Swissport, the world's leading provider of airport ground services and air cargo handling, on its €1.9 billion recapitalization; and Constellation, a Brazilian offshore drilling operator, in its US$1.5 billion cross-border restructurings.

Recent creditor-side representations include advising: an ad hoc group of bondholders holding more than US$630 million of unsecured bonds in the chapter 11 case of LATAM Airlines; a U.S. private credit fund in connection with the distressed acquisition of Australian corporate and superannuation trustee, Sargon Capital; and the unsecured committee of creditors in cryptocurrency platform Celsius Network's chapter 11 case.

Experience

  • Joint Administrators of The Body Shop International Limited (in administration) sell business and assetsJones Day advised Geoffrey Rowley, Anthony Wright and Alastair Massey of FRP Advisory in their capacity as joint administrators of The Body Shop International Limited (in administration), an appointee of the shareholder, Aurelius Investment Advisory Limited, in connection with the trading administration and subsequent sale of the company's business and assets.
  • Woolworths Group Limited acquires assets of Takeoff Technologies, Inc. through 363 sale credit bid of postpetition loans avoiding cessation of certain automated business operationsJones Day represented major Australian retailer, Woolworths Group Limited, in connection with a series of transactions to acquire software from its vendor, Takeoff Technologies, Inc., which filed for chapter 11 in May 2024.
  • Journey Beyond Group obtains A$495 million financingJones Day advised the Journey Beyond Group on a A$495 million syndicated facility, arranged and underwritten by Jefferies Finance LLC.
  • Deutsche Bank and private credit lenders refinance National Group via issuance of A$210 million in Senior Secured NotesJones Day acted for incoming senior lenders Deutsche Bank AG, New York Branch, and three private credit lenders in connection with the refinancing of the National Group, a leading supplier of heavy earthmoving and mining equipment in Australia which also provides end-to-end mining services to leading resource companies throughout Australia and internationally, via the issuance of A$210 million in Senior Secured Notes.
  • Corpay acquires GPS Capital MarketsJones Day advised Corpay, Inc. in the acquisition of GPS Capital Markets, LLC and its subsidiaries, a group that provides business-to-business cross-border and treasury management solutions, in Corpay’s third largest deal ever.
  • Non-bank lender defends against litigation in connection with lending to finance M&A transactionJones Day successfully represented a non-bank lender in multi-party litigation in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in connection with its lending to the purchaser in a M&A transaction, including under the financial assistance provisions in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
  • WEG acquires industrial electric motors and generators business from Regal Rexnord CorporationJones Day advised WEG S.A. in the $400 million acquisition of the industrial electric motors and generators business of Regal Rexnord Corporation.
    • View All

    March 2024 Alert

    Singapore Court Issues Landmark Decision Recognizing Indonesian Restructuring Plan

    September 2023 Newsletters

    Business Restructuring Review September-October 2023 | Vol. 22 No. 5

    Additional Publications

    • August 2022
      Two Sides of the Same Coin? Cryptoassets and Estate Property in Bankruptcy, American Bankruptcy Institute
    • December 2018
      A Trans-Pacific Tale of Carrots and Sticks: Lessons for Australia from the United States' Experience of the Ipso Facto Stay, Insolvency Law Journal
    • December 2016
      Evidentiary Challenges for the Insolvency Practitioner: the Use of Public Examination Transcripts at Trial, Insolvency Law Journal

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