Jordan E. Yarett

A partner in the Corporate Department and head of the firm’s Securitization Practice Group, Jordan E. Yarett has over 25 years of experience as a financing lawyer focusing on structured finance and securitization transactions. He has handled both innovative structured finance deals involving unusual asset classes as well as securitizations and bond financings involving a wide range of more traditional assets.

Experience

In 2007 The American Lawyer selected Mr. Yarett as a "Dealmaker of the Year" for his representation of Lehman Brothers Inc., the lead underwriter and sole structuring agent for Dunkin' Brands Inc. in its complex $1.7-billion whole-business securitization. He was also selected as a Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyer in America for conceiving and executing the Dunkin' Brands transaction. Mr. Yarett has been recognized by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, The Legal 500, IFLR1000 and The Best Lawyers in America, as a leading capital markets lawyer for his work on structured finance and securitization transactions. He has also been quoted in numerous publications including The Economist, The Daily Deal, The American Lawyer, The Hollywood Reporter, Esq. and The Analyst (published in India).

As part of his practice, Mr. Yarett has worked on many groundbreaking transactions including what are believed to be the first U.S. whole-company securitization involving intellectual property, first cash flow secured franchise loan securitization, the first rated time share loan securitization, the first telecom receivables commercial paper conduit, the first structured settlement conduit program, and the first fully effective SEC registered offering of pass-through certificates in a pool of secondary market municipal bonds, as well as many early and innovative drug royalty and equipment lease securitizations. In addition, he has regularly represented established clients in connection with more conventional asset classes such as trade receivables, auto loans and leases, home equity loans, mutual fund fees and credit cards.

Some of his recent work includes representing:

• CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. in connection with the whole-business securitization of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurant chains worldwide, consisting of $1.05 billion in bonds backed by franchise royalty rights, company-owned restaurant revenues, stores and the related brands.
• Two major investment banks in a $600 million refinancing securitization of all of the franchise and real estate assets of Sonic Corp.
• A major investment bank as sole structuring advisor and lead bookrunning manager, and Morgan Stanley as joint bookrunner, in connection with a $355 million offering of securitized billboard revenue notes for Adams Outdoor Advertising Limited Partnership.
• A major investment bank as underwriter for a $245 million of securitized debt consisting of senior fixed rate term notes and a senior secured revolving floating rate note, which were secured by the franchise revenues of domestic and international Church's Chicken and Texas Chicken-branded restaurants and substantially all assets of U.S. Church's Chicken-branded restaurants.
• Lehman Brothersin its role as sole structuring adviser, joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner in the closing of four cutting-edge asset securitizations:
  • a $1.85 billion securitization of the revenue generating assets of Domino's Pizza;
  • the $2.1 billion acquisition of Applebee's, the world's largest casual dining brand, by IHOP;
  • a $542 million securitization of the assets of two subsidiaries of Local Insight Media, a leading provider of print yellow pages and Internet-based local search services; and
  • a $245 million securitization of IHOP Franchising.
• Major League Baseball Industry Wide Securitization Facility in connection with ongoing issuance by multi-billion securitization facilities of securities backed by the league's national media revenues.
• The FDIC in its corporate and receiver capacities for certain failed financial institutions, including the issuance of over $1.4 billion in structured sale guaranteed notes collateralized by over 350 underlying mortgage backed securities transactions; in connection with a joint venture with Starwood Capital Group and TPG that oversees the distressed real estate loans of Corus Bank, valued at approximately $4.5 billion, including the issuance of more than $1 billion of Rule 144A notes; and in a securitization of distressed mortgages previously owned by over twenty failed banks.
• Sloan-Kettering in multiple financings, including a highly complex financing utilizing an innovative international royalties sale.
• Multiple parties in the cross-border securitization of alarm and home automation receivables.
• The California Public Utilities Commission in the Department of Water Resources Power Supply Revenue Bond Program (2002-2011) in the issuance of over $15 billion of bonds to finance power supply costs for California public utilities, and in numerous stranded cost securitizations.

A frequent speaker and author on developing issues in the structured finance arena, Jordan is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has written a chapter on derivatives litigation for Derivative Risk and Responsibility and two chapters in Securitization Legal and Regulatory Issues published by American Lawyer Media, Inc.

Jordan received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University in 1975 and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1978, where he was comment editor of the Law Review. He is a member of the ABA Subcommittee on Securitization of Assets, the New York City Bar Association Committee on Securitization and a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

Practices

• Corporate
• Finance
  

Education

• J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1978
• B.A., Yale University, 1975
  magna cum laude

Bar Admissions

• New York
  Pennsylvania

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