Based in the New York office, Katherine Reaves (Katie) is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Banking and Credit Practice. She advises leading private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, as well as other public and private companies, on capital structure strategy, financing transactions and other complex corporate finance matters.
Katie represents clients across a broad spectrum of secured and unsecured financings, including acquisition financings, asset-based lending facilities, recapitalizations, refinancings, liability management transactions and other bespoke financing matters. Drawing on extensive sponsor-side and borrower-side experience, she helps clients navigate a wide range of financing structures across the bank, bond and private credit markets.
Katie has advised clients across a range of industries, including industrials, technology, consumer and retail, healthcare and life sciences, financial services and business services and regularly advises on financings in connection with mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, restructurings and liability management exercises and other transformative transactions.
Her clients have included Warburg Pincus, Brookfield, TPG, GTCR, Carlyle, Berkshire Partners, Turn/River Capital, Altaris, Google (and its parent company Alphabet Inc.), Honeywell, McKesson and Verizon, among others. She was recognized by Euromoney Legal Media Group for her work on the “Deal of the Year,” the financing for ESL’s $5.2 billion acquisition of Sears Holdings in a 363 sale.
Katie’s reputation in the banking and finance market has been lauded, including in Chambers USA in Banking & Finance, where clients note her as “extremely knowledgeable and a team player” who is “incredibly creative in her solutions.” She is recognized by Chambers USA and IFLR 1000 and was shortlisted in 2023 for the Euromoney Legal Media Group Women in Business Law Awards Banking & Finance Lawyer of the Year.
Katie’s recent experience includes advising:
- Carlyle in financing matters relating to its pending acquisition of a majority stake in MAI Capital Management
- McKesson Medical-Surgical, a subsidiary of McKesson Corporation, in connection with its debut debt financing in preparation for its previously announced planned spin-off
- Turn/River Capital in the financing related to its strategic investment in StarLIMS
- Nautic Partners in the financing related to its acquisition of Cenavera Nutrition
- McKesson Corporation in multiple financings, including in connection with its $2.49 billion acquisition of a majority interest in Core Ventures
- Cushman & Wakefield in multiple refinancings
- Herc Holdings in connection with the financing related to its $5.3 billion acquisition of H&E Equipment Services
- NeueHealth in financing matters relating to its take-private transaction with NEA
- Beacon Roofing Supply in connection with the financing related to its acquisition by QXO
Notable experience prior to joining Simpson Thacher includes advising:
- Altaris in the financings for its acquisitions of Solesis and Solesis’s acquisition of Polyzen, and the acquisition of Johnson Matthey’s health business (Veranova)
- Warburg Pincus in the financings for numerous acquisitions and recapitalizations, including Service Express, Redwood Software, Ensemble Health Partners, Exeter Finance, TRC, CityMD, Consolidated Precision Products, Sotera Health and Rural/Metro
- TPG in the financings for numerous acquisitions, including Envision Pharmaceuticals, DTZ, Cassidy Turley and Cushman & Wakefield
- Brookfield in the financing for its acquisition of Scientific Games and the refinancing of Capital Automotive’s credit facilities
- ESL Investments in numerous financing transactions, including the financing for its acquisition of Sears in a Section 363 sale
- Honeywell International Inc. in financings relating to its spin-offs of Garrett Motion and Resideo
- Alphabet, McCormick & Co. and Verizon in numerous financing transactions
Katie received her J.D. from University of Chicago Law School in 2010 and her B.A. from Yale College in 2005. She is admitted to practice in New York.