Global law firm DLA Piper has announced that Konstantinos (Kos) Vavelidis has joined the firm’s finance, projects and restructuring practice as a finance partner based in London.
Kos brings to the firm significant experience in the structured finance, derivatives, securitisation and asset-backed lending space, with a particular focus on Collateralised Loan Obligations (CLO) transactions. He joins from Paul Hastings, where he advised the major CLO arranger banks across Europe and acted for some of the largest CLO managers in the European market.
Kos has also acted for major global financial institutions, including leading investment banks, hedge funds, private equity sponsors and corporate borrowers on a wide spectrum of cross-jurisdictional derivatives matters, with a particular emphasis on OTC and structured derivatives transactions in respect of a broad range of asset classes.
His appointment marks the latest in a series of successful, tactical hires for the group following Anthony Lombardi joining from Schulte Roth & Zabel, Antony Hainsworth from Société Générale, and Michael Doran from Baker McKenzie.
Colin Wilson, head of international projects at DLA Piper, comments: “We’re delighted to have Kos join the team, bringing his stellar reputation and broad, cross-jurisdictional experience to the table. The latest in a number of recent hires into the international finance group, Kos’s arrival will bolster an already deep bench in London, further elevating our global finance platform. Our clients in the US and Europe alike will benefit from his CLO and securitisation experience as we help them navigate unprecedented economic conditions.”
Richard Reilly, head of DLA Piper’s U.S. structured finance practice, comments: “We’re pleased to welcome Kos, who joins at an exciting and active time for the CLO market. He will play an important role in growing our practice both in the UK and Europe, and in the U.S. as we increasingly see U.S. CLOs being sold into the European market.”
Kos Vavelidis, partner at DLA Piper, comments: “I am thrilled to be joining DLA Piper in London and working alongside its extremely talented global team. I’m joining the team at a time where it continues to grow from strength to strength, and look forward to further enhancing its global platform and expanding its ability to serve clients in derivatives and securitisation, in particular the CLO space in Europe, the UK and the U.S.. CLOs and structured credit continue to offer compelling opportunities for investors, and the European CLO space is poised for further growth.”