Kent serves as the Finance Team Lead and has substantial experience in representing financial institutions and other lenders in a wide variety of domestic and international commercial lending and related activities.
Clients lending to a broad range of industries, including health care, hospitality, technology, transportation, and sports and entertainment, draw on Kent’s vast experience of more than three decades. His proven track record handling a full range of deal structures includes:
- Real estate acquisition/development
- Construction and term lending
- Ground lease financing
- Asset based lending
- Health care, utilities, and other regulated industries (including HMOs and FCC licensed broadcasters) financing
- Preferred ships mortgage financing
- Subordinated debt
- Letters of credit
- C&I, corporate, and commercial lending
- Acquisition financing in M&A transactions
- Dividend recapitalization financings
Additionally, he has been involved in the financing of numerous public/private projects, serving as issuer's counsel, developer's counsel, underwriter's counsel, and credit enhancer's counsel. Representative projects include port facilities, airport improvements, health care facilities, and serving as counsel to a major league baseball club in connection with development and construction of a spring training/minor league baseball stadium and related facilities.
In addition, institutional lenders look to Kent for representation in connection with structuring, negotiating, and documenting asset restructures, recoveries, and dispositions, and loan workouts comprised of forbearance agreements, structured settlements, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, cash collateral arrangements, and debtor in possession (“DIP”) loan transactions. A trusted advisor, he serves as counsel to public and private companies, equity and venture funds, and portfolio companies in connection with syndicated borrowings, including revolving credit facilities, term loan A and term loan B facilities, acquisition and roll-up financings, and debt offerings and placements.
Kent has also served as counsel to commercial banks in connection with construction loans for various projects including a marina, fast food franchised restaurants, manufacturing facilities, and hotels under the SBA 504 program.
Kent has frequently lectured on commercial loan documentation, secured transactions, lender liability, and opinion letter issues.
Although his legal practice keeps him very busy, Kent has been very active in youth lacrosse, having co-founded South Tampa Sticks Youth Lacrosse, on whose board he has sat for 17 years, and serving on the board of the Hillsborough County Lacrosse Alliance. He likes to spend his free time with his wife on their small farm and is focused on getting his children through school.