Michael A. Witt

Partner

  • Michael A. Witt
  • Phone: +1 312 499 6716

    Michael A. Witt - LinkedIn Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    190 South LaSalle Street, Suite 3700
    Chicago, IL 60603-3433
    USA

Michael A. Witt is a partner in the Chicago office of Duane Morris LLP, a team lead of the firm’s Banking and Finance industry group, co-chair of the firm's Healthcare Financing Group and a member of the firm's governing Partners Board.

Mr. Witt has extensive experience representing banks, lending institutions and borrowers in commercial finance transactions, including senior, syndicated, secured, agented and mezzanine finance. He also focuses on industry lending, such as healthcare and insurance, and specialty lending, including warehouse loans and tax liens, as well as sponsor-led private equity and acquisition financings.

Mr. Witt has led deals around the country, including Illinois, New Jersey, Minnesota, California, Florida, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Areas of Practice

  • Commercial Finance
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Corporate and Business Law

Admissions

  • Illinois

Education

  • Loyola University School of Law, J.D., 1995
    Member, Loyola Law Journal
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.A., 1992

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2005-present
    - Associate, 2000-2004
  • Jones Day, Chicago, Illinois
    - Associate, 1995-2000

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association
     - Negotiated Acquisitions Committee
  • Midwest Business Brokers and Intermediaries
  • Illinois State Bar Association

Civic and Charitable Activities

  • The Lungevity Foundation
     - Member, Benefits Committee
  • Evanston Baseball and Softball Association - Board Member

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "EBA Online Seminar Series: How COVID Has Changed Seniors Living and Care Underwriting," Environmental Banking Association, Webinar, April 29, 2021
  • Co-presenter, "Starting a New Business: Some Legal and Practical Tips," Chicago, Illinois, October 19, 2010
  • Co-guest lecturer, Venture Capital Structural Matters, Villanova Law School, Villanova, Pennsylvania, 2005-2013
  • Lecturer, Villanova Law School's e-Business Class, March 2005

Representative Matters

    Healthcare Financing

  • Represented CIBC Bank USA, as administrative agent and lender, in a $56.1 million syndicated financing transaction, including term loan, revolving loan and capex facilities, with a real estate investment group with a large portfolio of skilled nursing, assisted living and long term care facilities, to acquire a facility with skilled nursing, memory care and independent living components.

  • Represented CIBC Bank USA, as lender, on a bilateral financing transaction composed of a term loan facility of $14.2 million, a revolving loan facility of $2 million, and a capex facility of $3.6 million, with a real estate investment group with a large portfolio of various skilled nursing, assisted living, and long term care facilities.

  • Represented Popular Bank as administrative agent and lender in a $50 million refinancing, which consisted of a term loan secured by mortgages in Florida and North Carolina and a revolving credit facility for the operation of the skilled nursing home facilities located on the properties.

  • Represented Popular Bank in a $75 million acquisition and revolving credit facility to a Montreal-based real estate investment firm and a Chicago-based health services provider on their joint venture acquisition of three nursing homes in Delaware.

  • Represented Popular Bank, as agent and lead lender, in a $65 million syndicated acquisition financing of three skilled nursing homes in Southern California.

  • Represented CIBC Bank USA in a $47 million construction loan for a skilled nursing home facility located in Eugene, Oregon.

  • Represented CIBC Bank USA in a $40 million term loan and refinancing of eight assisted living facilities and skilled nursing homes in Minnesota to Monarch Healthcare Management, an operator of senior living centers.

  • Represented Popular Bank in a $40 million term loan to a REIT based in New York on a refinancing of four skilled nursing facilities located in Oklahoma and Texas.

  • Represented Popular Bank, as agent and lead lender, in a $30 million syndicated acquisition financing for skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities in New York.

  • Represented certain subsidiaries of Petersen Health Care, one of the largest nursing home operators in Illinois, in obtaining for its nursing home portfolio some $140 million in financing: from two revolving credit facilities agented by Credit Suisse AG, New York Branch, a term loan from Sector Financial Inc. (an affiliate of Credit Suisse) and a mezzanine term loan from an affiliate of GMF Capital, a private equity firm.

  • Other Syndicated Secured Financings

  • Represented a regional banking institution as agent in a subscription-backed fund financing revolving loan in the amount of $75 million to a real-estate based private investment fund and its various subsidiaries.

  • Represented CIBC Bank USA as administrative agent and lead lender in a $40 million syndicated refinancing to a group of specialty manufacturing companies, which consisted of (i) a term loan secured by mortgages in California and Montana and (ii) a term loan, a capital expenditures loan and a revolving credit facility for the operation of the facilities located on the properties.

  • Represented Balchem Corporation (Nasdaq: BCPC), a chemical manufacturer, and its U.S. subsidiaries in a $500 million syndicated secured financing with J.P. Morgan Chase as administrative agent.

  • Represented J.P. Morgan Chase as agent and lead lender in a $165 million syndicated secured financing to one of the nation's largest turkey processing companies.

  • Represented Lake Forest Bank & Trust Company, N.A. in its extension of a $37.1 million secured, revolving credit facility to an investment fund of an opportunistic real estate investment firm.

  • Private Equity Sponsor-Led Financings

  • Represented Twin Light Capital, a private equity firm focused on the seniors housing and healthcare sector, in its $36 million acquisitions of Hudson Manor, an assisted living facility in Tampa, Florida, and 13 additional assisted living facilities.

  • Represented Associated Bank as agent and lead lender in a $19 million senior secured financing to High Street Capital, a private equity fund located in Chicago, Illinois, in its acquisition of a feed mill company that provides feed to farms throughout the Midwest region of the United States; the deal also involved subordinated and seller debt.

  • Represented Clock Spring Company, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of composite pipeline and pipe work repair solutions, in its financings to enable the acquisition of Citadel Technologies, a manufacturer of engineered carbon-fiber composite repairs, including restructuring the existing revolver and real estate loan, and completing equity financing and conventional and convertible loans from a private equity firm.

  • Represented Associated Bank as agent and lead lender in a $15 million secured financing to Merit Capital, a Chicago private equity fund, in its acquisition of a calibration, inspection and repair of electronic and mechanical test instrument company.

  • Represented Lake Forest Bank & Trust Company, N.A. in its extension of a $23 million credit facility to non-profit corporation that owns and runs the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.

  • Specialty Lending – Warehouse, Insurance and Tax Liens

  • Represented Lake Forest Bank & Trust Company, a Wintrust community bank, in connection with a $49 million acquisition financing transaction. LFB&TC acted as the administrative agent and co-lender to provide a $33 million term loan, an $8.5 million delayed draw term loan, and a $7.5 million revolving line of credit to an industry leading international captive insurance manager and its affiliates.

  • Represented Lake Forest Bank & Trust Company, a Wintrust community bank, in connection with an $81 million refinancing transaction. Lake Forest acted as administrative agent and co-lender to provide a term loan of approximately $46 million, a delayed draw term loan of $20 million and a $15 million revolving line of credit to an insurance agency headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

  • Represented CIBC Bank USA as agent and lead lender in a $175 million secured financing to a middle market specialty finance firm to make healthcare related loans as-needed to its customers.

  • Represented CIBC Bank USA as agent and lead lender in a $38 million secured financing to MidCap Financial, to permit MidCap to make various real estate related loans on an as-needed basis to its customers.

  • Represented CIBC Bank USA as agent and lender in a $50 million warehouse line of credit to CNH Finance, an asset based lender.

  • Represented Lake Forest Bank & Trust on a $20 million loan to The Plexus Group, a privately-owned insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm.

  • Represented Integro UK, the specialty insurance brokerage firm, in connection with its $2.5m (c.£2.03m) investment into Bermuda-based underwriting technology start-up Helix Underwriting Partners Ltd., with Integro’s investment giving Helix an enterprise valuation of $10 million (c.£8.12m), and simultaneously on a restructuring of Helix to permit expansion.

  • Represented Associated Bank in a $10 million revolving loan for tax liens. 

  • Represented Associated Bank/TLH in a $10 million revolving loan for tax liens, to provide borrowers statutory return on investment through tax certificates at auction.