DLA Piper launches Global Capital Solutions Practice with the addition of Partners Ranesh Ramanathan, Alex Cushman, and Daniel Wayte

DLA Piper has welcomed Partners Ranesh Ramanathan, Alex Cushman, and Daniel Wayte to the firm's global Finance Practice, establishing a new cross-border multi-disciplinary Capital Solutions team that further enhances the firm's ability to deliver tailored financing strategies and advise clients on highly complex, bespoke funding solutions across the capital structure.

Ramanathan and Cushman, based in New York, and Wayte, based in London, enable the firm to provide end-to-end counsel on the full spectrum of debt, equity, and hybrid investment strategies. With an established presence spanning the US, London, Hong Kong, Dubai, and other locations across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, South America and Africa, the team enables seamless support for cross-border investments and creative capital partnerships across developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The Capital Solutions team keeps pace with the most sophisticated investment managers as they explore creative strategies, working with them on the full range of investment opportunities, including unitranche and senior direct lending, opportunistic and hybrid capital (junior capital, mezzanine, preferred equity, convertibles, and warrants), spinouts, rollups, rescue financing, fund financing and liquidity facilities, asset-backed financings, and liability management transactions. The team supports clients across the complete business lifecycle, from growth-stage financing through IPO and beyond, including PIPEs and public offerings, and serves clients spanning all industries.

The team is purpose-built to help investors, sponsors, and public, sponsor-owned and closely held companies navigate how capital flows – across funds, sponsors, balance sheets, and market cycles – and to structure solutions that align risk, return, and strategic objectives. Handling the full range of transaction types, from mid-market and large cap deals to direct lending, hybrid capital, and opportunistic credit opportunities, the team draws on deep, interdisciplinary experience in finance, private credit, restructuring, private equity, corporate, and M&A to deliver integrated advice across the capital structure, bringing clarity and execution certainty to complex transactions in dynamic market conditions.

Ramanathan, who will lead the global Capital Solutions team, advises a broad array of clients in complex situations across debt and equity, hybrid and structured solutions, joint ventures, rollups, and spinouts. Ramanathan represents several of the world's largest global asset managers on a wide variety of matters and advises private equity firms and their portfolio companies in a range of traditional large cap and middle market acquisition and financing transactions. His almost 30 years of practice has included nearly 15 years in senior in-house roles, first as General Counsel to Citi Private Equity and then as a Managing Director and the Deputy General Counsel at Bain Capital and General Counsel to Bain Capital’s Credit and Special Situations Businesses. He is nationally recognized by Chambers and Legal 500.

Cushman brings complementary experience advising special situations funds, private equity firms, global asset managers, and other strategic investors and their portfolio companies on the full spectrum of complex corporate transactions. Cushman started his professional career with four years at Bain Capital. He was recognized as a Rising Star by Private Debt Investor in 2024.

Wayte has more than 20 years of experience advising global institutional investors, private equity firms, and private credit clients across multiple jurisdictions. His practice spans a broad range of alternative capital solution transactions, including structured and preferred equity, joint ventures and litigation funding, as well as growth equity, public equity, public takeovers, private M&A and private equity buyouts. He has a particular focus on the Financial Services, Technology, and Infrastructure sectors.

"Capital strategies for companies and funds have fundamentally evolved, and our clients need advisors who understand not only individual financing products, but how to integrate a suite of hybrid capital options and deploy that capital efficiently in changing market environments," said Matt Schwartz, Chair of the firm's US Finance practice. "Our team's know-how spans the full range of bespoke capital and liquidity solutions, informed by real-time market insight and a practical understanding of capital provider expectations. Ranesh, Alex, and Daniel's sophisticated, globally integrated practice seamlessly plugs into this network, further enabling us to execute complex cross-border transactions for clients around the world."

"This team brings clarity to highly nuanced situations, aligns stakeholders quickly, and moves decisively from strategy to execution – helping clients reach outcomes faster and with confidence," said John Gilluly, US Vice Chair and Head of the firm's Transactional practices.

Colin Wilson, International Group Head of DLA Piper's Finance practice, added: "The appointment of Ranesh and Alex in New York, and Daniel in London, marks a significant milestone for our global Finance practice. Their knowledge and experience in alternative capital solutions strengthen our ability to support clients across multiple jurisdictions as they navigate an increasingly complex financing landscape. This global team reinforces our commitment to delivering seamless, cross-border advice to market participants worldwide."

“The last two decades, including 10 years at Bain Capital, found me on the leading edge of an ever-evolving array of complex and customized private capital investment opportunities for companies of all shapes and sizes,” said Ramanathan. “Having worked closely with some of the most sophisticated investors in the world, I have come to recognize how much they value a creative global legal team with broad-based knowledge who can seamlessly navigate the web of interwoven issues and opportunities to help find mutually beneficial solutions. I am very excited that we will be plugging into DLA Piper’s truly global footprint and wide breadth of leading practices, which will create a unique offering to meet these client needs.”

The arrival of Ramanathan, Cushman, and Wayte further propels DLA Piper's growth across the firm's Corporate, M&A, and Finance practices. In recent months, DLA Piper Partners Josh Seidenfeld, Viktor Sapezhnikov, Stephanie Yarbrough, Jeff Klein, Tom Levato, Justin Michael, Paul Landless, Mark Brown, Chris Field, and Sherlyn Lau, among several others, have joined the practice, bringing deep market insights and dealmaking acumen across their respective areas.

DLA Piper advises on all aspects of financing, across borders, sectors, and financial products. The firm's lawyers advise issuers, underwriters, selling shareholders, sponsors, arrangers, lead managers, originators, dealers, trustees, and depositaries on a broad range of capital markets offerings, including equity, equity-linked and debt securities, structured and project financings, and securitizations. The firm's interdisciplinary approach enables it to provide seamless strategic advice across many areas of the law, finding innovative solutions to complex issues and delivering bespoke financing strategies tailored to each client's unique circumstances.