Jeffrey S. O'Connor, P.C.
Overview
Jeff O’Connor is a partner in Golden Flag’s Structured Finance & Structured Private Credit Practice Group. Jeff is recognized as one of the leading securitization attorneys in the United States by several major legal publications. He counsels clients in a broad range of complex asset securitization, structured finance, secured lending and receivables sale transactions involving credit card, auto and equipment, oil and gas, healthcare, manufactured housing and other assets. Clients describe Jeff as “a great technical lawyer” with “really good judgement with respect to legal and business points” who is “well-liked by in-house counsel.”
Experience
Representative Matters
Raisa Energy LLC in the issuance of $636 million of asset-backed securities secured by over 9,000 producing oil and gas wells across six states, as part of a master trust
A private company in the issuance of over $100 million of asset-backed securities secured by operated producing oil and gas wells
A private company in the issuance of over $200 million of asset-backed securities secured by operated producing oil and gas wells
United Airlines in a $6.8 billion financing comprising $3.8 billion of bonds and $3 billion of term loans secured by the airline’s MileagePlus loyalty program
Diversified Energy Company in a $160 million sustainability-linked ABS of Barnett Shale assets in North Texas
Riviera Resources, an independent oil and natural gas company, in the issuance of $82 million senior secured notes secured by limited term overriding royalty interests (volumetric production payment or VPP interests) in helium
An oil and gas company in a unique transaction involving the transfer of ownership interests in existing oil and gas wells to a special purpose vehicle and the private placement of securities backed by output from the transferred wells
A marketplace lender:
- as the borrower in a term loan providing mezzanine financing; the “asset base” that supports the loan measured the “notional value” of pool assets (including mortgage servicing rights, residential mortgage loans owned by the borrower, servicing advances, MSR holdbacks and unsecured consumer loans) and subsequent refinancing, and
- as the repo seller and servicer in two issuances of term notes and variable funding notes backed by Ginnie Mae servicing rights, utilizing a securities contract bankruptcy safe harbor structure
A portfolio company of Värde Partners in:
- the issuance of $1.2 billion of senior and subordinated term notes and variable funding notes through the securitization of an existing credit card portfolio
- a warehouse facility financing newly originated receivables, and
- a residual interest financing facility involving allocation mechanics to comply with risk retention requirements
A lender in a committed revolving credit facility financing credit card receivables utilizing a master trust structure and the issuance of a series of variable funding notes
A lender in multiple financings of credit card receivables, including a structured warehouse facility with guaranties at both the sponsor and parent level and significant intercreditor provisions
A private equity firm and its portfolio company in the:
- acquisition of a credit card servicer and creation of a $150 million credit card securitization program, and
- subsequent addition of bank originators to an existing securitization facility
Underwriters and initial purchasers to Ford Motor Credit Company in multiple public and Rule 144A offerings of ABS backed by dealer floorplan receivables
J.P. Morgan Securities, as initial purchaser to Kubota Credit Corporation in several Rule 144A offerings of ABS backed by equipment loans
Deere & Company, World Omni Financial Corp., NextGear Capital, Navistar Financial Corporation, Hyundai Capital America and other clients in securitization transactions, including:
- Formation of dealer floorplan master trusts and the issuance of public and private term series, variable funding notes to ABCP conduits or banks and syndicated warehouse facilities
- Creation of innovative structures, including trust-in-trusts, multi-pool trusts, variable interest trusts, pooling of residual interests and ABS backed by assets from multiple trusts
- Forward flow and one-off whole loan sales of prime and subprime retail auto loans, auto leases and dealer floorplan receivables
- Retail equipment and auto transactions, including public, Rule 144A, conduit, and pre-funding transactions, statistical pools, subsequent issuances and sales of subordinate classes, and repackaging securitizations of residual interests
- Auto and equipment lease transactions, including the formation of titling trusts, public and private offerings, syndicated warehouse facilities and leveraged lease transactions
- Preparation of registration statements on Form SF-3 complying with Reg AB II shelf eligibility requirements, risk retention, loan level data, and other complex disclosure rules
Southwest Stage Funding (d/b/a Cascade Financial Services) in:
- several structured financings, and
- a Rule 144A offering of ABS backed by manufactured housing loans
A publisher in an offering of term asset-backed securities and variable funding notes backed by advertising revenues and structured as a whole business securitization
Kellogg Company in:
- an agreement to sell, on a revolving basis, up to $800 million of accounts receivable from a single obligor to a third party financial institution
- a U.S. accounts receivable securitization program with a parent guarantee, credit default insurance, and cross-default provisions, and
- an agreement to sell, on a revolving basis, accounts receivable from a selected group of obligors to a third party financial institution
A medical and scientific equipment leasing company in:
- multiple offerings of asset-backed securities, and
- a securitized warehouse facility
A health insurance company in:
- numerous loans secured by Medicaid receivables,
- multiple sales of pools of healthcare receivables, and
- the structure and implementation of a double lockbox cash management system to address restrictions under state and federal statutes regarding the transfer of governmental obligations
A private equity firm in the acquisition, financing and subsequent sale of multiple pools of manufactured housing loans and related servicing agreements
A finance company in the creation of dozens of separate dealer floorplan master trusts, including several complex master trusts capable of issuing series of notes backed by either a cross section of the pool receivables or solely by overconcentration receivables
A private equity fund in structured transactions involving the transfer of commercial loans, debt securities and other assets to special purpose vehicles and a revolving credit facility
Private equity funds in NAV leveraged loan facilities
Various securitization transactions and structured financings of marketplace loans, energy assets, private label credit card receivables, and operating assets
Private equity firms and/or their portfolio companies in structured financings involving bankruptcy remote special purpose entities and complex true sale and substantive consolidation analyses
More
Thought Leadership
Publications
Lead author of comment letter to S&P on its vehicle floorplan rating methodology
Author of comment letters and written testimony to influence proposed retail installment sale contract and licensing legislation in Texas, Florida and Montana
“Auto Loan and Lease ABS Sector Review,” Institutional Investor Journals, Spring 2013, Vol. 19, No. 1: pp. 95-97
Seminars
Panelist, “Market Beat: All About Financing - Warehouse Lines, Repo, and Fund Financing,” SFVegas, September 2021
Panelist, “ABS 101,” ABS East, September 2019
Moderator, “Equipment Finance,” ABS East, September 2018
Moderator, “Equipment Finance,” ABS East, September 2017
Moderator, “Risk Retention Compliance,” ABS East, September 2016
Moderator, “Auto ABS: Scheduling for Regular Maintenance,” ABS Vegas, March 2016
Moderator, “Auto Loan and Lease ABS Sector Review,” American Securitization Forum Conference, January 2013
Recognition
Awarded “US Lawyer of the Year: Debt Capital Markets” at IFLR1000's 2021 Canada and United States Awards
Recognized in the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions of Chambers Global and the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions of Chambers USA for Capital Markets: Securitisation
Recognized in the 2010–2024 editions of The Legal 500 U.S. for Structured Finance: “an excellent technical lawyer, who provides creative solutions to structuring challenges”
Memberships & Affiliations
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- California
- Illinois
Education
- University of Southern California, Gould School of LawJ.D.1990
- University of Wisconsin-MadisonM.D.1986
- Marquette UniversityB.S.1982