Gemma C.A. Cullen

Milbank LLP is advising the financing sources on the £1.3 billion acquisition of Biffa plc, a leading UK-based listed integrated waste management company, by Energy Capital Partners (ECP) and its affiliates. Biffa plc is a leader in the UK's sustainable waste management industry and a key enabler of the UK's circular economy. The Biffa Group operates across the breadth of the waste management process, including surplus redistribution, recycling, treatment, energy generation, collection and disposal. Biffa's customer base for these services includes local governments (who are responsible for the management of household waste), large corporates and SMEs, and purchasers of end-product commodities and energy. The Biffa Group's operating segments are split into three divisions - Collections, Resources & Energy and Specialist Services. Founded in 2005, ECP is a global investment firm with more than $26 billion in capital commitments from more than 600 limited partners and a portfolio of more than 20 operating equity portfolio companies that serve customers around the world. ECP specialises in investing in operating companies across energy transition, electrification and decarbonisation infrastructure assets, including power generation, renewables and storage solutions, environmental infrastructure and sustainability, efficiency and reliability assets. The Milbank team is led by European Leveraged Finance/Capital Markets partner Suhrud Mehta, special counsel Laura Bonamis, associates Bie Cookey and Pranahita Srinivas and trainee solicitor Gabriel Steinberg, with support from the London corporate team, special counsel Merih Altay and associate Gemma Cullen and London tax team special counsel Andrew Callaghan and associate Pranav Subhedar.

Sep 29

1 min

Milbank LLP advised global growth investor Summit Partners in connection with the sale of a majority stake in GRESB to General Atlantic. Summit Partners will retain a minority position in GRESB and will partner with General Atlantic in GRESB’s next phase of growth through strategic expansion and product innovation. GRESB is a leading global provider of sustainability standards and benchmarks for real assets. The annual GRESB benchmarks, used by 150 institutional and financial investors to inform decision-making, include more than 2,000 real estate portfolios and funds as well as more than 170 infrastructure funds and nearly 700 infrastructure assets, collectively representing USD 8.8 trillion in gross asset value. Summit Partners is a global alternative investment firm with capital dedicated to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities. Founded in 1984, Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and has invested in more than 550 companies in technology, healthcare, and other growth industries. The deal team was led by London Corporate partner Andrej Wolf with support from special counsel Merih Altay, associates Gemma Cullen and Daniel Woods and trainee Rachel Tay. The team also included London Antitrust partner Andrea Hamilton, Washington DC Antitrust special counsel Daniel Rosenthal and London Tax special counsel Andrew Callaghan.

Apr 19

1 min

Milbank LLP advised global growth investor, Summit Partners, in connection with its minority investment in TradingHub, a leading provider of sophisticated risk-based software solutions for financial markets. The investment is expected to facilitate TradingHub expand its product offering, deepen its financial market footprint and support the company’s continued growth. TradingHub provides market-leading trade surveillance, anti-money laundering, best execution and financial analytics software across a broad range of asset classes, including rates, fixed income, FX, commodities and equities. TradingHub’s risk-based approach to identifying anomalous trading behaviour represents a paradigm shift – a move away from traditional, rules-based systems towards sophisticated monitoring of capital markets activity. The deal team was led by London Corporate partner Andrej Wolf with support from associates Gemma Cullen and Adam Chang and London Tax special counsel Alan Rafferty and associate Cosmos Fung.

Jun 27

1 min

Milbank LLP advised Amber Infrastructure Group (“Amber”) on the strategic combination of Amber Infrastructure Group Holdings Limited and Boyd Watterson Asset Management, LLC (“Boyd Watterson”) under a common parent company. The transaction will be subject to customary consent processes as well as UK FCA consent and other customary regulatory approvals. The transaction will create a premier diversified investment manager across the global real estate, infrastructure, and fixed income sectors with over 300 investment personnel, offices in 12 countries and approximately $35.7 billion in assets under management. The new entity is expected to provide clients, partners, and employees with significant benefits from the enhanced scale of the combined, global platform underpinned by a diversified revenue base, expanded product opportunities, and enhanced investment acumen. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in London, Amber is a specialist international investment manager focused on investment origination, asset management and fund management. Amber currently manages or advises nine funds with over £5 billion (c. $6 billion) in funds under management. Amber manages 175 infrastructure investments representing total assets under management of £14 billion (c.$17.5 billion). Amber’s core business focuses on managing infrastructure assets across the public, transport, energy, digital and demographic infrastructure sectors internationally. US-based Boyd Watterson, founded in 1928, has $18.2 billion in total assets under management across its real estate and fixed income investment portfolios. Lisa O’Neill, partner in Milbank’s Global Corporate practice said, “Milbank continues to advise on some of the most exciting and strategic transactions in the global infrastructure sector, and we are delighted to have been involved in this project.” The Milbank team was led by Global Corporate partner Lisa O’Neill and included Global Corporate partners John D. Franchini, James McClymont and Daniel Tyrrell. The team was supported by Global Corporate associates Gemma Cullen, Gary Chu, Lewis Whiteoak and Stephanie Winkler.

Jun 12

1 min

Milbank LLP advised the underwriters in connection with the initial public offering and Athens Stock Exchange listing of Athens International Airport S.A. (“AIA”), Greece’s biggest IPO in over 15 years. The AIA shares priced at €8.20 per share, at the top of the price range, raising gross proceeds of approximately €785 million for the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund and valuing the company at approximately €2.46 billion. AIA was established in 1996 as a public-private partnership and is responsible for operating and developing “Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos,” the largest airport in Greece. The airport handled approximately 35% of Greece’s aviation traffic and served more than 28 million passengers in 2023. AIA was initially granted a 30-year concession, which has now been extended until June 2046, pursuant to which it is responsible for the construction, management and operation, and development of the airport. The Milbank team was led by Corporate Finance and Securities partners David Dixter and Apostolos Gkoutzinis and associates Alexia Pimbli and Dimitris Krokos. The Milbank team also included New York Tax partner Andrew Walker and associates David Hanno and Elaine Lee, London Tax partner Alan Rafferty and associate Cosmos Fung, and Corporate partner Lisa O’Neill and associates Kate Meils and Gemma Cullen. The team was also assisted by law clerk Caroline Green.

Feb 7

1 min