Brown Rudnick advises on £100m litigation funding partnership between North Wall Capital and PGMBM

By John Freund |

International law firm Brown Rudnick has advised alternative investment firm North Wall Capital on a £100m litigation funding partnership with PGMBM, a law firm focused on environmental, social and corporate governance cases. The investment will be used by PGMBM to address the growing demand from consumers and other victims of injustice to seek recourse against corporates.

Fabian Chrobog, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of North Wall Capital said: “We are thrilled to announce this partnership with PGMBM as part of our ESG-focused legal assets strategy. We are incredibly grateful to Elena and the litigation funding team at Brown Rudnick for advising on this significant deal.”

Elena Rey, Partner at Brown Rudnick who led the deal team said: “This deal is thought to be the largest investment in a UK claimant law firm to date, strengthening Brown Rudnick’s leadership as the go-to advisor for litigation funding deals. This was a complex structure, which included a framework for the type of cases that this investment can be used to fund. We are delighted to have advised North Wall on this significant component of their ESG strategy.”

As well as Elena Rey, the Brown Rudnick deal team included Counsel Tristan Dollie and Associates Natalie Grundy and Reena Patel.

Brown Rudnick is the go-to law firm for litigation funding deals, thanks to their deep understanding of the industry and experience in structuring innovative and complex deals. In April 2021, Brown Rudnick advised on the multimillion-dollar funding agreement for a legal claim against social media giant TikTok and its parent company ByteDance.

In November 2020, Brown Rudnick launched the Litigation Funding Working Group, which now has over 90 members to develop model documents. In May 2022, Brown Rudnick hosted London’s first ever Litigation Funding Conference, attended by over 300 funders, lawyers, brokers, investors and other entities from the litigation funding eco-system.

London-based North Wall Capital provides private capital to Western European special situations and manages several funds on behalf of global institutional investors. This investment brings the total invested by North Wall in PGMBM to £150million. In March 2021, North Wall Capital and PGMBM announced a £45m funding partnership.

PGMBM is a partnership between British, American, Brazilian, and Dutch lawyers passionate about championing justice for the victims of wrongdoing by large corporations. This month, the firm secured a landmark, unanimous judgment from the Court of Appeal that allows over 200,000 victims of the Mariana Dam disaster, Brazil’s worst ever environmental disaster, to seek redress against the world’s largest mining company, BHP, in the Courts of England and Wales. The firm is at the cutting edge of international consumer claims, including historic settlements on behalf of over 15,000 claimants in the Volkswagen NOx Emissions Group Litigation in May 2022 and 16,000 victims of the British Airways Data Breach in 2021.

About Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick is an international law firm that serves clients around the world from offices in key financial centers across the United States and Europe. We combine ingenuity with experience to achieve great outcomes for our clients. We deliver partner-driven service; we incentivize our lawyers to collaborate in the client’s best interest; and we put excellence before scale, focusing on industry-driven, client-facing practices where we are recognized leaders.

Announcements

View All

Omni Bridgeway Releases Investment Portfolio Report for 3Q24

By John Freund |

Omni Bridgeway Limited (ASX: OBL) (Omni Bridgeway, OBL, Group) announces the key investment performance metrics for the three months ended 31 March 2024 (3Q24, Quarter) and for the financial year to date (FYTD).

Summary

  • Investment income of A$296 million FYTD; A$56 million provisionally attributable to OBL.
  • 23 full completions, 17 partial completions FYTD, with an overall multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of2.0x.
  • A$333 million of new commitments FYTD with a corresponding A$447 million in new fair value, on track to achieve our A$625 million target.
  • Pricing remains at improved levels, up 32% for the FYTD compared to FY23.
  • Strong pipeline, with agreed term sheets outstanding for an estimated A$212 million in new commitments.
  • OBL cash and receivables of A$101 million plus A$60 million in undrawn debt at 31 March 2024.
  • A$4.4 billion of possible estimated portfolio value (EPV) in completions over the next 12 months. 
  • Further simplification and enhancement of our disclosures as announced at the Annual General Meeting, comprising non-IFRS OBL-only financials and non-IFRS fair value on a portfolio basis and OBL-only basis.
  • These new disclosures and metrics, as well as a valuation framework for our existing book and platform, were presented at our investor day on 27 March 2024.

Refer to https://omnibridgeway.com/investors/investor-day.

Key metrics and developments for the Quarter

Income and completions

  • Investment income of A$296 million generated from A$193 million income recognised and A$103 million income yet to be recognised (IYTBR), with A$56 million provisionally attributable to OBL FYTD (excluding management and performance fees). 
  • During the Quarter, 11 full completions and 11 partial completions (excluding IYTBR), resulting in 23 full completions and 17 partial completions (excluding IYTBR) FYTD, and one secondary market transaction, with a FYTD overall MOIC of 2.0x.

New commitments

  • Our stated targets for FY24 include A$625 million in new commitments or equivalent value, prioritising value over volume to reflect potential for improved pricing of new commitments.
  • FYTD new commitments of A$333 million at 31 March 2024 (from matters that were newly funded, conditionally approved or had increased investment opportunities). 
  • The fair value associated with these commitments is $447million, 72% of the full year value generation target.
  • Pipeline of 37 agreed exclusive term sheets, representing approximately A$212 million in investment opportunities, which if converted into funded investments is a further 34% of our FY24 commitments target.  
  • In addition to the regular new commitments to investments in the existing funds FYTD, an additional A$11.5 million of external co-fundings were secured for these investments to manage fund concentration limits. OBL will be entitled to management fees as well as performance fees on such external co-funding.

Portfolio review

  • A$4.4 billion of EPV is assessed to possibly complete in the 12 months following the end of the quarter. This 12 month rolling EPV is based on investments which are subject to various stages of (anticipated) settlement discussions or for which an award or a judgment is expected. All or only part of these may actually complete during the 12 month period.
  • We anticipate replacing these final EPV metrics with fair value metrics by the end of this financial year.

Cash reporting and financial position

  • At 31 March 2024, the Group held A$100.7 million in cash and receivables (A$62.8 million in OBL balance sheet cash, A$2.0 million in OBL balance sheet receivables and A$35.9 million of OBL share of cash and receivables within Funds) plus access to a further A$60 million in debt.
  • In aggregate, we have approximately A$161 million to meet operational needs, interest payments, and fund investments before recognising any investment completions, secondary market sales, management and transaction fees, and associated fund performance fees.
  • Post Quarter-end and as per the date of this report, in anticipation of the expiry of the availability period of the debt facility, OBL has drawn down the A$60 million in undrawn debt and received the funds.

Investor day

The investor day presentation and Q&A which took place on 27 March 2024 can be viewed at https://omnibridgeway.com/investors/investor-day.

Read More

Carpentum Capital Launches Aurigon Litigation Risk Consulting (LRC)

By John Freund |

The team around former Carpentum Capital has launched AURIGON LITIGATION RISK CONSULTING (LRC), a litigation funding intermediary based in Switzerland with a special focus on Latin America. 

Founder and Managing Director Dr. Detlef A. Huber comments: ”AURIGON LRC is combining two worlds, litigation finance and insurance. Both areas are increasingly overlapping. Insurers offer ever more litigation risk transfer products and funders recur to insurance to hedge their risks. Hence complexity and advisory requirements are increasing, especially in still developing markets like Latin America. With our team of lawyers and former re/insurance executives trained in Latin America, the US, UK and Europe we are perfectly suited to advice our clients in any stage of the funding process or in related insurance matters. Our goal is to become the preferred partner for litigation and arbitration funding projects out of Latin American jurisdictions and I am looking forward to this new adventure.”

ABOUT AURIGON

AURIGON Advisors Ltd. is operating as re/insurance consultancy since 2011 with a special focus on dispute resolution and auditing. With AURIGON LRC an intermediary for litigation funding has been launched servicing our clients out of Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Switzerland in Spanish, English, Portuguese and German. With our experience setting up the first Swiss litigation fund dedicated to Latin America (founded 2018), and in the insurance advisory area (since 2011), we are bringing together knowledge of processes and mindsets of the funding and the insurance world. 

Read More

Westfleet Advisors Announces James Batson as New Chief Operating Officer

By John Freund |

Westfleet Advisors, the premier U.S. litigation finance advisory firm, is delighted to announce the appointment of James "Jim" Batson as its new Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Batson, widely recognized as a leader in litigation finance, brings an extensive portfolio of expertise, including nearly a decade at Omni Bridgeway, most recently as its US Co-CIO, and a former partnership at Liddle & Robinson.

"We are thrilled to welcome Jim to Westfleet," said Charles Agee, Founder and CEO of Westfleet Advisors. "His impressive track record and deep industry knowledge align perfectly with our strategic goals. Jim's leadership is set to drive significant growth, reinforcing Westfleet's role as an essential advisor in the increasingly complex litigation finance market."

"At a time when the litigation finance industry has reached a critical juncture, requiring sophisticated understanding to navigate its complexities, I am excited to join Westfleet Advisors," said Mr. Batson. "The industry's growth and the diversification of funding options have made it imperative for clients to seek knowledgeable and experienced advisors. Westfleet's long-established expertise in advising on deal structures, pricing, and market trends positions us uniquely to guide our clients to the most advantageous outcomes. I look forward to advancing our mission to deliver unmatched advisory services in this dynamic sector."

Mr. Batson's prior roles have honed his skills in developing growth strategies and enhancing client services, with a strong focus on operational excellence and strategic advisory for complex legal disputes.

"Jim's deep understanding of the industry's needs and his proven leadership abilities will be instrumental as we expand our advisory services and deepen our engagement with the market," added Agee.

About Westfleet Advisors

Westfleet Advisors is the leading litigation finance advisor in the United States. Founded in 2013, the company has been instrumental in promoting transparency and efficiency in the litigation finance market. With a team of seasoned experts active since 1998, Westfleet provides clients and their attorneys with essential resources and insights necessary for navigating successful litigation financing.

Read More