Kieran Sharma

KIERAN SHARMA has a wide range of experience in cross-border restructurings, advising sponsors, debtors, creditors, and strategic investors on restructurings of stressed and distressed businesses.

Prior to returning to Sidley, Kieran served as a director on the European investment team at Strategic Value Partners (SVP), a global investment firm focused on distressed debt and private equity opportunities. In his role, he worked across several of the most notable cross-border European bankruptcy cases of the COVID cycle, for which SVP was either a lead or significant creditor. Kieran’s involvement in these transactions spanned initial underwriting of distressed credit opportunities, the structuring and negotiation of transactions, and representing SVP on creditor and ad hoc committees.

Kieran also has experience advising leading hedge funds and private equity houses in relation to their due diligence and review of European investment opportunities in stressed and distressed situations.

Kieran has received acknowledgement from numerous industry ranking guides:

• Legal 500 UK 2026 – Recommended for “Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency.” Sources praise Kieran as “commercially astute, highly responsive, and consistently calm under pressure.” He is further commended as “innovative, highly commercial and solutions focused, anticipating issues and proposing solutions,” and “the very knowledgeable Kieran Sharma benefits from buy-side experience, which makes his advice ever more so relevant.”
• Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, and Chambers Global 2026 – Named as “Up and Coming” for Restructuring/Insolvency, where clients note that he is “technically extremely strong” and that “he’s very good at solving complex problems.”
  
• Legal 500 UK 2024 and 2025 – Recommended for “Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency.”

Examples of Kieran’s work include advising:

• Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. on the approximately US$12.3 billion offshore debt restructuring through the dual parallel schemes of arrangement at two different entities in their relevant jurisdictions. This is the largest offshore debt restructuring of a Chinese real estate company that has been sanctioned to date. This deal was named “Restructuring and Insolvency Matter of the Year” at Law.com International’s Asia Legal Awards 2025 and “Deal of the Year” by China Business Law Journal 2024.
• An ad hoc group of class B bondholders in relation to Thames Waters’ first restructuring plan.
• Sino-Ocean Group Holding Limited on the successful restructuring of its approximately US$6 billion offshore debt. This landmark project is the first-ever “Cram across” in which Hong Kong–governed debt was used to cram down English law–governed debt through a twin Part 26A Restructuring Plan and Hong Kong scheme of arrangement, and the first time that a Chinese real estate company has used an English Restructuring Plan. The deal has won the “Pioneering Spirit Award” at the 2025 Global Restructuring Review Awards.
• Atento, one of the world’s largest providers of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services, in its successful restructuring and capital raise implemented via two parallel, inter-conditional and multi-class UK restructuring plans pursuant to Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006.
• Zhongliang Holdings Group Company Limited on the successful restructuring of its approximately US$1.2 billion of offshore debt.
• Global Loan Agency Services Limited as facilities agent, GLAS Trust Corporation Limited as existing security agent, and TMF Trustee Limited as new security agent on the restructuring of BARTEC, a German manufacturer of explosion safety equipment.
• Global Loan Agency Services in connection with the restructuring of Galapagos Holding S.A.
• Famar on the successful restructuring, recapitalization, and strengthening of its capital structure.
• Northgate Information Solutions, a then KKR & Co. portfolio company, in relation to its financial restructuring and reduction of its debt facilities by £390 million.
• KKR Asset Management in relation to the financial restructuring of the Maxeda Group.
• KKR Asset Management and CVC Capital, as the then-sponsor of Van Gansewinkel Group, in relation to its financial restructuring.
• Centerbridge Partners, as the largest lender to the Apcoa Group, in relation to its restructuring.
• A.T.U. in relation to the restructuring and reduction of its debt facilities by over €600 million.
• TeleColumbus GmbH, a leading German cable network operator, in relation to its financial restructuring and schemes of arrangement.
• Monier Group, a leading international manufacturer and supplier of building materials, in relation to its schemes of arrangement across six jurisdictions in Europe.
• Sankaty Advisors on its acquisition, via a pre-packaged administration sale, of the Lambert Smith Hampton Group and its subsequent sale of the restructured Lambert Smith Hampton Group to Countrywide plc.
• European Directories in relation to its subsequent €800 million financial restructuring, resulting in majority control by Triton Partners.

*Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.