London, August 8, 2006 – LAWFUEL – Legal News Service – Paul Hastings, the premier international law firm, has advised First Title Insurance, London, and First American Title Insurance, LA, in the largest securitisation of debt secured against a residential portfolio of assets in Germany in the issue of debt by Terra Firma and Deutsche Annington, respectively.
Title insurance played a paramount role in obtaining the desired rating. It was the first time that title insurance was ever used for that purpose in Germany.
The debt issue was underwritten by Citigroup and Barclays Capital. The insurance policies were devised specifically for use in the German market.
The Paul Hastings team was led and coordinated by partner Dr. Geza Toth-Feher with specific real estate advice provided by Melanie Schumann. Other members of the Paul Hastings team included Robert Abt and Dr. Mathias Walch (both corporate), Jens Waldner (real estate) and Tuvi Keinan (finance).
Commenting on the transaction, Dr. Toth-Feher, Paul Hastings, said, “This has been a cutting-edge transaction. We are very fortunate to have been able to cooperate with our clients on what is clearly to become a new market trend in securitisations involving real estate assets.”
Melanie Schumann added, “Usually the German system of land registries combined with the notaries would have safeguarded the security package. Due to the speed and complexity of this transaction the system is unable to cope and appropriate insurance cover had to be sought.”
Phillip Oldcorn, Chief Executive officer of First Title Insurance plc said, “This transaction was another great example of how title insurance can be used by real estate investors and their financiers to structure deals in better ways. Title insurance is not only for emerging markets where land registry data can be unreliable, but also in sophisticated, mature markets such as Germany.”
The 1,000 separate policies delivered vital security to the providers of the debt and this facilitated timely closing.
Since May last year, First Title has opened for business in 12 new European countries, including Germany, 7 Central & Eastern Europe countries and Turkey to introduce to real estate investors and their lenders added safety and flexibility when structuring real estate transactions.
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Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, founded in 1951, is a leading international law firm with over 1,000 attorneys in 17 offices. The firm serves a diverse client base including many of the top financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies, supports clients in all of their legal needs and offers deep capabilities in Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate/M+A, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, Project Finance, Investment Management, Real Estate, Labor and Employment and Tax Advisory Services. For additional information, please visit our website at www.paulhastings.com.
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