John D. Pitts, P.C.

Kirkland & Ellis advised EQT, a purpose-driven global investment organization, on a joint venture between EQT’s Infrastructure VI fund and T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), America's 5G leader and fastest growing broadband provider, to acquire fiber-to-the-home platform Lumos from EQT’s predecessor fund EQT Infrastructure III. The joint venture will bring T-Mobile’s retail, marketing, brand and customer experience strengths together with EQT’s fiber infrastructure investment expertise. Together they will acquire Lumos’ scalable fiber network build capabilities, to deliver best-in-class high-speed fiber internet connectivity to customers across the U.S. without access to fiber today. The transaction is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners John Pitts, Ben Hardison and Jess Lepper and associates Josh Stout, Alexa Grealis and Sarah Walden; tax partners David Wheat and Joe Tobias; capital markets partners Matt Pacey and Atma Kabad; debt finance partners Lucas Spivey and Osaro Aifuwa; and antitrust partner Scott Scheele.

Apr 25

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Sandbrook Capital in connection with a $300 million capital commitment in Cloverleaf Infrastructure from Sandbrook, NGP and contributions from Cloverleaf’s management team. Cloverleaf is a recently formed developer of large-scale digital infrastructure sites powered by low-carbon electricity. The company is led by a team of seasoned executives with backgrounds from renowned independent power developers such as Pattern Energy and ConnectGen, as well as major data center operators such as Microsoft. Building on this extensive expertise in the power and data center sectors, Cloverleaf collaborates with regional U.S. utilities and data center operators to deliver scalable clean electricity through strategic investments in transmission, grid interconnection, land, onsite power generation and electricity storage. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Cy Jones, Jennifer Gasser and John Pitts and associate Cat Leveque; and executive compensation partners Katherine Nemeth and Stephen Jacobson.

Jul 17

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Apex Energy II, LLC, a portfolio company of funds managed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management, L.P., on its definitive agreement to sell its natural gas upstream and associated midstream business in the Appalachian Basin to CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) for total cash consideration of approximately $505 million, subject to certain adjustments including an effective date of October 1, 2024. Completion of the transaction, which is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2025. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team included real asset transactions lawyers David Castro Jr., R.J. Malenfant, Luke Strother, Lyle Paul and Jake Johnson; corporate lawyers Zach Savrick, John Pitts and Colleen Haile; debt finance lawyers Mary Kogut and Michelle Williamson; capital markets lawyer Billy Vranish; tax lawyers David Wheat and Rebecca Leigh Fine; environmental transactions lawyers Paul Tanaka, Jim Dolphin and Max Anderson; employment & labor lawyer Christie Alcala; employee benefits lawyer Justin Codington; executive compensation lawyer Stephen Jacobson; antitrust & competition lawyer Chuck Boyars; and derivatives lawyers Brett Ackerman and Drue Santora.

Dec 5

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) on its definitive agreement to acquire Satcom Direct, to create the only in-flight connectivity provider able to satisfy the performance and cost needs of every segment of the global business aviation and military/government mobility markets. Under the terms of the agreement, Satcom Direct will receive $375 million in cash and five million shares of Gogo stock at closing, and up to an additional $225 million in payments tied to realizing certain performance thresholds over the next four years. The transaction will be financed with a combination of cash-on-hand and $275 million in committed new debt. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of Gogo and remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close by the end of 2024. The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Ben Hardison, Doug Bacon and John Pitts and associate Kersten Kober; debt finance partners Rachael Lichman and Osaro Aifuwa; capital markets partner Matt Pacey; and tax partners David Wheat and Joe Tobias.

Sep 30

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis represented I Squared Capital, a leading global infrastructure investment manager, on the acquisition of WOW Logistics, a Wisconsin-based integrated supply chain solutions provider. WOW Logistics is one of the largest food-grade temperature controlled and ambient storage operators in North America, with facilities located across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Idaho. Read I Squared Capital’s press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partner John Pitts and associate Gabrielle Sumich; debt finance partners Lucas Spivey and Jordan Roberts; and tax partner David Wheat; and included corporate partner Kyle Watson and associate Reese Gwin; executive compensation partner Stephen Jacobson; and employment & labor partner Christie Alcala.

Mar 15

1 min