Taylor M. Smith

Taylor Smith is a partner at Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, where his practice focuses on the representation of borrowers and lenders in debt finance transactions. He is admitted to practice in Colorado and New York.

Prior to joining DGS, Mr. Smith practiced for three years in the corporate department of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York.

Mr. Smith graduated from the University of Virginia in 2007 with a B.A. in English Literature and received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2012. During law school, Mr. Smith interned in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and at the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mr. Smith currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Arrupe Jesuit Corporate Work Study Program, which provides economically disadvantaged high school students with the opportunity to get a private college-preparatory education by earning part of their tuition at entry-level office positions in banking, finance, law, medicine and other career fields. From 2016 to 2018, he served on the Young Professionals Council of Denver Kids, Inc., a non-profit focused on helping Denver Public Schools students graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary options. He has been named among the “Ones to Watch” in the area of Corporate Law by Best Lawyers, an annual guide by publisher Woodward/White Inc.

Mr. Smith was a member of the 2018 Leadership 20 class, a leadership development program for emerging leaders within ACG Denver’s professional business community.

Representative DGS Transactions

Private Equity

• Approximately $130 million of committed acquisition financing for a private equity consortium’s acquisition of a waste and recycling company.
• Debt financing for a private equity sponsor’s acquisition of a building products company.
• Debt financing for a private equity sponsor’s acquisition of a series of medical equipment services providers.
• Debt financing for a private equity sponsor’s acquisition of a supply chain technology firm.
• Subscription-based credit facilities for an energy focused private equity fund and a real estate focused private equity fund.
• Debt financing for a private equity firm’s acquisition of a workwear retailer.
• Representation of first lien lender in leveraged acquisition of a manufacturing company.

Real Estate Lending and Project Finance

• Approximately $550 million of mortgage and mezzanine financing for the acquisition and development of a nationwide portfolio of select service hotels.
• $375 million credit facility for a Denver-based commercial real estate investment fund.
• Over $400 million in aggregate construction loans for Snowmass base village development project.
• Loans to finance the construction of condominium, apartment, and affordable housing developments throughout Colorado.
• Debt financing for leveraged acquisition of Texas water rights.

General Corporate – Public Company Borrowers

• $200 million credit facility for DMC Global Inc. in connection with its acquisition of a controlling interest in Arcadia Inc.
• Reserve-based revolving credit facility for PDC Energy, Inc., providing for a maximum credit amount of $2.5 billion and the implementation of sustainability-linked pricing adjustments.
• $75 million credit facility for Mesa Laboratories, Inc.

General Corporate – Private Borrowers

• $500 million senior secured revolving credit facility for a global materials and manufacturing company.
• $500 million reserve-based revolving credit facility for privately held energy producer.
• Senior secured revolving credit facility for a design engineering firm.
• Representation of first lien lender in senior secured revolving credit facility for international ski resort operator.
• Representation of commercial bank in senior secured asset-based revolver for warehousing company.

Publications

• “Equity Cure Provisions in Middle-Market, Sponsor-Backed Credit Agreements,” Colorado Banker Magazine (October 2022)
• “Anti-Cash Hoarding Provisions in Reserve-Based Credit Agreements,” DGS Legal Alert (May 2020)
• “Energy Funds Target Subscription-Based Facilities,” Oil & Gas Investor (November 2017)