Aburiyeba Ibiye Amaso

Kirkland & Ellis counseled Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) on its investment of approximately US$200 million in Redaptive, a leading Energy-as-a-Service provider. Redaptive funds and installs energy-saving and energy-generating equipment to help organizations reduce energy waste, save money, lower their carbon emissions, and meet their sustainability goals. Certain existing investors, including Linse Capital and CBRE, will participate alongside CPP Investments in the investment. Redaptive is expecting to announce a second close in early 2023. Read the CPP Investments press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Kevin Crews and Allan Kirk and associates Brittany Scheier and Aburiyeba Ibiye Amaso; tax partner David Wheat; executive compensation partner David Branham; energy regulatory partner Brooksany Barrowes and associate Lilla Grisham; and ESG & Impact partner Abbey Raish and associate Maddy Foote.

Dec 19

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis counseled Bluescape Energy Partners on its definitive agreement with 5E Advanced Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq: FEAM), an exploration stage boron and lithium company, for a $60 million private placement of senior secured notes convertible into common stock of the company. Bluescape is a U.S.-based institutional investment manager with particular experience in building, operating, and investing in real assets. Bluescape’s focus is in the power and energy transition sector, with the company expecting to leverage Bluescape’s substantial experience and relationships within the power and resources sectors, U.S. shareholder base, and federal government. Read 5E Advanced Materials press release The Kirkland team was led by debt finance partners Andy Veit and Shan Khan and associates Brittany Taylor and Grant Gannon; capital markets partners Julian Seiguer and Bryan Flannery and associates Billy Vranish and Sarah Ashley Byrd; corporate partners Jhett Nelson and Paul Knowlton and associates Ashley Victoria Park and Aburiyeba Ibiye Amaso; and tax partner Mark Dundon and associate Victoria Chang.

Aug 11

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Protective Life Corporation (Protective), a U.S. subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750), on an agreement for Protective’s principal subsidiary, Protective Life Insurance Company, to acquire ShelterPoint Group, Inc., a leading provider of statutory disability, paid family and medical leave and medical gap insurance products, among others. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Read Protective’s press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Kimberly Meng Han and Rajab Abbassi and associates Alex Rodriguez Perez, Shaq Taylor and Aburiyeba Ibiye Amaso; insurance regulatory partner Parimah Hassouri; tax partner Polina Liberman and associate Joey Morley; technology & IP transactions partner Jeffrey Seroogy and associates Rob Patrignani and Leonor Suarez; healthcare partner Anthony Del Rio and associate Jonathan Deitch; transactional liability insurance partner Hayley Hollender; and antitrust partner Andrea Murino and associates Chris Salvatore and Declan Duggan, with additional support from corporate associate Alex Adamis.

Apr 10

1 min

Jennifer Gasser A month after launching a new Houston office, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP expanded the location with the addition of a corporate attorney who moved her practice from Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Jennifer Gasser has been welcomed this week to Paul Weiss as a partner in the M&A group in the corporate department at the Houston office, the firm announced Tuesday. Gasser said in a prepared statement she has "long been impressed" by Paul Weiss' M&A platform. "I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues and expanding the firm's leading capabilities within Houston, a hotbed of activity for energy and infrastructure," Gasser said. The Houston office opened at the beginning of February when former Kirkland attorneys Sean T. Wheeler and Debbie P. Yee joined Paul Weiss. Wheeler leads the Houston location, with Yee joining as a partner in the M&A group. "Jennifer is a highly skilled M&A lawyer specializing in energy and infrastructure," Wheeler said in a prepared statement. "Her proven track record advising clients in these spaces on their most important transactions makes her an invaluable addition to our growing Houston team." Gasser's practice counsels clients, primarily in the energy and infrastructure industries, on matters related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures, according to the firm's announcement. Her notable transactions over the past several years include assisting EQT Corp. with forming a $3.5 billion joint venture with Blackstone Credit & Insurance and with EQT's $35 billion merger with Equitrans Midstream Corporation. "Jennifer's arrival marks another key step in the continued buildout of our Houston team, and we are excited to welcome her to the firm," Scott A. Barshay, chairman of Paul Weiss, said in a prepared statement. Gasser earned her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 2015.

Mar 3

2 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised HGGC, a leading middle-market private equity firm, on its $115 million strategic equity investment in Upland Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPLD), a leader in cloud-based tools for digital transformation. The investment, in the form of a new class of convertible preferred stock, provides Upland Software with incremental capital for future M&A opportunities and brings value-added support for long term value creation. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners David Feirstein and Marshall Shaffer and associate Daniel Yip and capital markets partners Jennifer Wu and Bryan Flannery and associates Samantha Siegler and Aburiyeba Amaso, with corporate partners Travis Nelson and Marc Browning, debt finance partners Sonali Jindal and Austin Glassman and associate Elizabeth Roberts, and tax partner Kevin Coenen.

Jul 14

1 min