Sarah C. Kessler

Sarah Kessler is a partner in Chapman’s Banking and Financial Services Department and member of the Commercial Lending Group. She focuses her practice on private equity-related finance, representing lenders and borrowers in both fund finance and acquisition finance. Sarah also has significant experience in financings to borrowers that are themselves financial players, such as REITs and broker-dealers.

Fund Finance

Sarah regularly structures complex financings throughout a fund’s capital structure, including subscription or capital call facilities, NAV or back leverage facilities, loans including rated note feeder funds or debt commitments, financings related to the general partner’s or principals’ capital contributions, management company lines and CFOs (collateralized fund obligations). These financings often involve advising on multi-jurisdictional collateral packages or fund structures and non-standard collateral, such as capital contribution obligations, various fee streams, interests in series LLCs, and REIT operating partnership units.

Acquisition Finance

Sarah advises financial institutions, private equity funds, and portfolio companies in leveraged buyouts and acquisition financings, primarily in the recurring revenue and middle market spaces. Her work spans various industries, including financial services (B2B, payment solutions, registered investment advisors (RIAs), point-of-sale (POS)), technology and health care (service providers, health care IT and clinical services).

REITs

Sarah has represented lenders in financings to private, public, and investment grade real estate investment trusts (REITs). Within REIT financings, she has experience with UPREITs, baby REITs, 1031 exchanges, REITs that publicly list during the term of the financing, and ESG matters.

Sarah also works collaboratively with the Chapman Practice Innovations team and her clients to identify pain points in their day-to-day or transaction processes and develop process improvement workflows and tech-enabled solutions.

Sarah started her legal career at Chapman. Prior to rejoining the firm, Sarah worked at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Prior to attending law school, Sarah worked at SVB Capital, the private equity division of Silicon Valley Bank. At SVB Capital she marketed fund of funds investments and separate accounts to institutional investors.