GMAC Turns to Kirkland & Ellis LLP for Commercial Mortgage Divestiture

Kirkland & Ellis LLP advised General Motors Corp.'s commercial-mortgage business in a nearly $9 billion deal that was announced today. An investor group led by affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Five Mile Capital Partners, LLC, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of a majority interest in GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. (GMACCH) from General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC).

GMAC, the wholly-owned financial services subsidiary of General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), sold 78 percent of its equity in GMACCH, up from the previously announced 60 percent target, in exchange for more than $1.5 billion in cash. At the closing, GMACCH also repaid to GMAC approximately $7.3 billion of inter-company loans, bringing GMAC's total cash proceeds from the transaction to almost $9 billion.

In a press release issued by GMAC, GMACCH, a leader in real estate finance, investments and services, also announced that it has changed its name to Capmark Financial Group Inc.. The name change will be fully implemented in the second quarter of this year.

The Kirkland team was led by partner R. Scott Falk. Other attorneys from the Corporate Practice who worked on the transaction include partner Gregory C. Vogelsperger and associate Roger D. Rhoten.

Other practice groups at Kirkland also played a major role in making this deal happen, including partner Jeffrey T. Sheffield and associate Dean C. Bachus (Tax); partner Gregg Kirchhoefer and associate Palek V. Shah (Intellectual Property); and partner Vicki V. Hood and associate Maureen D. O'Brien (Employee Benefits).

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,100-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex corporate, restructuring, tax, litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration, and intellectual property and technology matters. The Firm has offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.