Michael E. Pikiel, Jr.
Partner
Co-Chair, Energy and Infrastructure Industry Group & Co-Chair, Project Finance Practice
Mike has over 20 years of experience handling transactions for clients in the infrastructure, transportation, and energy sectors. A recognized leader in his field, clients have praised him for his “straightforward no-nonsense style of negotiating and drafting.”
Key Matters
Some of the experience represented below may have been handled at a previous firm.
- Representing the lenders, ING Capital LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and Royal Bank of Canada, in connection with a US$350M credit facility and the note purchasers of US$475M of senior secured notes, the proceeds of which will all be used to refinance SH 130 (Segments 5 and 6). Segments 5 and 6 cover the southernmost approximately 41 miles of SH 130 to its terminus at I-10 and were developed through a design-build-finance-operate-maintain private partnership between TxDOT and the SH 130 Concession Company, LLC.
- Representing the lenders in connection with the financing by Boldyn Networks (formerly known as Transit Wireless), a BAI Communications company and leading 5G wireless infrastructure provider, of the expansion of its ubiquitous fiber network serving the New York City Subway, which will double the size of its 5G fiber network to cover 418 track miles and up to 20 separate river crossings, along with an expansion of Wi-Fi service to all 191 above-ground subway and 21 Staten Island Railway stations.
- Representing the lenders and related interest rate swap providers in connection with a US$130M construction loan facility and an approximately US$28M term loan facility and the purchasers of approximately US$119M of privately placed secured notes, the proceeds of which will be used by Clackamas Progress Partners, LLC to pay a portion of the costs for the design, construction, financing, operations, maintenance and management services of the new Clackamas County Circuit Courthouse in Oregon City, Oregon.
- Representing DNT Asset Trust, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co., in connection with an approximately US$290M tax-exempt multi-tranche accreting loan used to purchase Georgia Department of Transportation and State Road and Tollway Authority receivables issued to East Interchange Builders LLC in connection with the design, construction and financing of the approximately US$700M I-285/I-20 East Interchange MMIP Project.
- Representing Axium Infrastructure and its project company, Mass Ave Housing Partners LLC, in connection with a project for the University of Massachusetts Building Authority and the University of Massachusetts Amherst to design, construct, finance, operate, manage and maintain approximately 600 beds of undergraduate apartment-style housing and related infrastructure, including a dining facility, a wellness space and parking and approximately 200 beds of graduate student apartment-style housing and related infrastructure, including parking, to replace existing facilities at UMass Amherst.
- Representing Harrison Street in connection with the acquisition of a long-term public-private partnership with the U.S. Air Force under which Harrison Street will operate and maintain 4,095 homes located on six Air Force installations, including: Edwards Air Force Base (California), Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field (Florida), Eielson Air Force Base (Alaska), McConnell Air Force Base (Kansas), and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (North Carolina).
- Representing the underwriters of US$273,395,000 of tax-exempt private activity bonds, the lenders on a US$642,560,812 revolving credit facility and the related interest rate swap providers, and the note purchasers of US$197,761,478 of privately placed secured notes, the proceeds of which will be used by Red River Valley Alliance, LLC to pay a portion of the costs incurred to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the Diversion Channel and Associated Infrastructure Work Package of the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project. The project is the first flood management project in North America to be delivered as a public-private partnership. In addition, the debt was issued as green bonds, green loans and green notes making the financing unique for the North American infrastructure market.The project was recognized as the 2021 “Americas P3 Deal of the Year” by Project Finance International (PFI), the 2021 “North America P3 Deal of the Year” by Proximo and as the “Water Deal of the Year – North America” at the 2021 IJGlobal Awards. The project also received the Climate Adaptation Award at the 2022 IJGlobal ESG Awards.
- Representing Kiewit Meridiam Partners LLC in connection with the refinancing of a 2017 TIFIA loan and the financing of additional costs of the Central 70 Project, which consists of improvements along 12.5 miles within the Denver Metro area from I-25 (west) to Tower Road (east), including the construction of general-purpose lanes and tolled express lanes. The refinancing was recognized by Proximo as its 2021 “North America Transport Deal of the Year.”
- Representing the lenders, KeyBank National Association, National Bank of Canada and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, in connection with the US$225M financing of the acquisition by Applegreen USA Welcome Centres, LLC of HMS Host Tollroads, Inc., which operates and maintains over 60 on-highway service plazas, located across 13 highways within eight states in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest region.
- Representing LA SkyRail Express LLC (John Laing and BYD Transit Solutions LLC) in connection with an approximately US$64M pre-development agreement with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to perform certain pre-development work in connection with the proposed delivery of a new fixed-guideway transit service running from the San Fernando Valley to West Los Angeles; the project was recognized as the “Innovation of the Year” at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s 33rd Annual Public Private Partnerships (P3s) in Transportation Conference.
- Representing Axium Infrastructure in connection with the acquisition of a 50% indirect interest in Georgetown Energy Partners LLC, which is party to a long-term concession agreement with Georgetown University to operate, maintain, and modernize the University’s utility system including steam, chilled water, power and domestic water for their main campus location and downtown law center facilities. The project received the Social Infrastructure ESG Award at the 2022 IJGlobal ESG Awards.
- Representing John Laing in connection with its additional investment of approximately US$14M to increase to 50% its indirect interests in Denver Transit Partners, LLC, which operates and maintains an electric commuter rail corridor from Denver International Airport.
- Representing Empire State Thruway Partners LLC in connection with a project to redevelop, finance, operate, and maintain 27 service plazas along I-90 from the Pennsylvania border to Albany, and along I-87 South from Albany to New York City pursuant to a lease agreement with the New York State Thruway Authority.
- Representing Manulife Investment Management and certain affiliates in connection with the acquisition, alongside Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A., from of Elizabeth River Crossings HoldCo, LLC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Elizabeth River Crossings OpCo, LLC, which operates and maintains the Elizabeth River Tunnels Project under a 58-year concession agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation.
- Representing the note purchasers in connection with the sale of approximately US$479M of senior secured notes by Prince George’s County Education & Community Partners, LLC in a private placement for a project to design, build, finance, and maintain six new schools in Prince George’s County, Maryland; the project is the first social infrastructure P3 for schools in the United States and was recognized as the “Editor’s Choice Deal of the Year for North America” and the “Social Infrastructure (Education) Deal of the Year for North America” at the 2020 IJGlobal Awards and the “ESG Social Infrastructure Dead of the Year” at the 2021 IJGlobal ESG Awards. The project was recognized by The Bond Buyer as its 2021 “Public-Private Partnership Financing Deal of the Year”, as the 2021 “North America P3 Deal of the Year” by Proximo and as the “Transport Deal of the Year – North America” at the 2021 IJGlobal Awards.
- Representing a group of institutional investors in the private placement of secured notes issued by Vista Ridge LLC and Central Texas Regional Water Supply Corporation in the “wildly successful” refinancing of the Vista Ridge Water Supply Project. The project consists of a 142-mile water transmission system that gathers and transports perpetually leased raw groundwater from Burleson County, Texas to deliver up to 53,000 acre-feet of water per year to the City of San Antonio (the City). The project was recognized as the “Refinancing Deal of the Year – AMERICAS” at the 2021 IJInvestor Awards.
- Representing Axium Infrastructure in connection with its acquisition, and the financing of the acquisition, of 100% of the membership interests in WETT Holdings LLC, owner of 100% of the membership interests in Wind Energy Transmission Texas, LLC (WETT), from PSP Investments and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. WETT own and operates 375 miles of 345 kV transmission lines and six substations across eleven West Texas counties as part of the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone program.
- Representing the lenders, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, MUFG Union Bank, N.A., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, New York Branch, National Bank of Canada, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company and Pensionskasse des Bundes PUBLICA, in connection with a US$437,451,600 senior secured credit facility, consisting of a US$174,817,352 senior construction facility, a US$246,817,021 term loan facility and a US$15,817,207 debt service reserve letter of credit facility, to Boston AFC 2.0 OpCo LLC. The credit facility was used by Boston AFC 2.0 OpCo LLC to refinance an existing approximately US$226.3M credit facility, finance the termination of existing interest rate swaps and finance the expansion of the scope of the Automated Fare Collection System Services Project, which involves the design, implementation, integration, testing, operations, maintenance, and management of a next-generation fare payment system, including account-based ticketing using mobile and contactless bankcard options, to serve the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's multi-modal regional transit system. The project was recognized as the 2020 “North American Rail Deal of the Year” by Proximo Americas and as the “Digital Infrastructure Deal of the Year for North America” at the 2020 IJGlobal Awards.
- Representing Axium Infrastructure in connection with its acquisition of a 19.6% indirect interest in Autopistas Metropolitanas de Puerto Rico, LLC, which operates and maintains PR-22 (the Jose de Diego Expressway), a 52-mile, 4- and 6-lane toll highway that stretches westward from San Juan to Arecibo along Puerto Rico’s northern coast and Puerto Rico’s most heavily travelled roadway, and PR-5 (Rio Hondo Expressway), a 2.5-mile eastward extension of PR-22 to Bayamon, under a long-term concession agreement with the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority.
- Representing Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Partners, L.P. in connection with the issuance of US$322,512,400 of senior secured notes privately placed with institutional investors, a US$30M letter of credit facility and a US$82,125,000 subordinated loan from Build NYC Resource Corporation made from the proceeds of tax-exempt refunding revenue bonds issued by Build NYC Resource Corporation. The proceeds from the financing were used to redeem approximately US$31M of senior secured bonds issued by Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Partners, L.P. in 1997 and 2004, defease US$307M of tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds issued by the New York City Industrial Development Agency in 1997, and prepay a US$60M bridge loan.
- Representing Axium Infrastructure in connection with the financing of the acquisition from EDP Renewables North America LLC of an 80% equity interest in a portfolio consisting of the 200 MW Meadow Lake VI Wind Farm in Indiana and the 199 MW Prairie Queen Wind Farm in Kansas.
- Representing Plenary Properties Purdue, LLC, in connection with a project to develop, design, build, finance, operate, and maintain two new student housing facilities to accommodate approximately 1,300 beds at Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus.
- Representing Axium Infrastructure in the financing of the acquisition of Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Partners, L.P., which owns and operates a 286 MW gas-fired plant that supplies electricity and steam to New York City.
- Representing the lenders, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, New York Branch; MUFG Union Bank, N.A.; and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, in connection with a term loan and letter of credit facility used by John Laing Investments and Cubic Transportation Systems to finance the design, implementation, integration, testing, operations, maintenance, and management of a next-generation fare payment system, including account-based ticketing using mobile and contactless bankcard options, to serve the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's multi-modal regional transit system; the AFC 2.0 Project is the first project delivered by the MBTA as a public-private partnership and the first P3 of its kind in the United States; the project was recognized with Silver Award for the "Best Transit Project" at the 2019 P3 Awards.
- Representing Meridiam Infrastructure, Kiewit Development Company, and Kiewit Meridiam Partners LLC in connection with a project to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the approximately US$1 billion Central 70 Project, which consists of improvements to an approximately 10-mile stretch of I-70 East in greater Denver, Colorado from I-25 to Chambers Road, adding one new tolled express lane in each direction, removing the existing viaduct, lowering the highway between Brighton Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard, and placing an approximately four-acre cover over a portion of the lowered highway; the project received the Gold Award as the “Best Road/Bridge/Tunnel Project” and the Gold Award for the “Best Financial Structure” at the 2018 P3 Awards.
- Representing John Laing Investments in connection with its equity investment in a project to develop, design, build, finance, operate, maintain and toll high occupancy/toll lanes (in each direction), access points to the high occupancy/toll lanes and to park and ride facilities, interchanges, new transit and park and ride facilities, and associated facilities along the 22-mile I-66 corridor from I-495 (Capital Beltway) in Fairfax County to US 29 (Gainesville) in Prince William County; the project received the Gold Award as the Best Transportation Project at the 2017 P3 Awards & Conference, the Silver Award as the “Best Road/Bridge/Tunnel Project” at the 2018 P3 Awards and was recognized as the “North American Roads Deal of the Year” at the 2017 IJGlobal Americas Awards.
- Representing the lenders in connection with a term loan and working capital facility to finance the acquisition by AMP Capital Global Infrastructure Fund of ITS ConGlobal, one of North America’s largest operators of intermodal railroad and auto terminals, container yard depots, and provider of intermodal equipment maintenance and repair services.
- Representing HICL Infrastructure Company Limited, the listed infrastructure investment company advised by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, Northleaf Infrastructure Capital Partners LP, and Northleaf Infrastructure Capital Partners II LP, and DIF Infrastructure IV Cooperatief UA in connection with the acquisition and financing of Northwest Parkway LLC, which operates the Northwest Parkway, an 8.9-mile segment of the partial beltway system extending around the Denver metropolitan area, under a 99-year concession and lease agreement with the Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority that was originally granted in 2007, and GO-PASS Mobility Services LLC, which provides certain electronic toll collection systems and services to Northwest Parkway LLC; the transaction was recognized as the “North American M&A Deal of the Year” at the 2017 IJGlobal Americas Awards.
- Representing the underwriters, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., and Barclays Capital Inc., of senior lien revenue bonds used to fund a loan to Blueridge Transportation Group, LLC to finance a portion of the costs of an approximately US$1.1B project to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain tolled lanes and related facilities along a portion of State Highway 288 in Harris County, Texas.
- Representing Plenary Group USA Concessions Ltd. and certain affiliates, including Plenary Properties Long Beach LLC, in connection with an approximately US$550M project in Long Beach, California, to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain a new city hall, a new public library, new parking facilities, a revitalized park, and a new headquarters for the Port of Long Beach; the Long Beach Civic Center & Port Headquarters Project is notable because it is the first PPP project procured by a municipality to reach financial close; the project received the Gold Award as the Best Social Infrastructure Project and the prestigious “project of projects” Grand Prix at the 2016 P3 Awards & Conference and was also recognized as the “North America Project Bonds Deal of the Year” at the 2016 IJGlobal Awards.
- Representing Aldridge Electric, Inc., as the D&C contractor, and Aldridge Freeway Lighting, LLC, as an equity investor, in connection with a project in Michigan to design, build, and finance improvements to existing freeway and tunnel lighting systems in the Detroit Metro Region and operate and maintain these lighting systems for a period of 15 years; the Metro Region Freeway Lighting P3 Project is the first freeway lighting PPP project in the United States and the first PPP project in Michigan.
- Representing the preferred bidder for an approximately US$500M project to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain five new interconnected buildings critical to the criminal justice system of the City of Indianapolis, Indiana and Marion County, Indiana, including an adult detention center, community corrections facility, courthouse, juvenile justice center, sheriff's department, and parking facilities.
- Representing Axium Infrastructure in the financing of its acquisition of a 49 percent cash equity interest in a 1.1 GW portfolio of eight operating wind farms in seven states.
- Representing SouthGate Mobility Partners LLC, Kiewit Development Company, and Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., in connection with the US$850M project to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain approximately 14 miles of tolled managed lanes, general purpose lanes, and associated facilities along SH 183 from SH 131 to I-35E in Dallas and Tarrant Counties.
- Representing an international infrastructure fund in the financing of its acquisition of a district energy business operating in Chicago and Las Vegas with a total generating capacity of 750,000 pounds per hour of steam.
- Representing Enova Energy Group, LLC and its project company, Plainfield Renewable Energy, LLC, in the development and US$224.5M project financing of a 37.5 MW (net) biomass-fired electricity generating facility to be located in Plainfield, Connecticut; the project was recognized by Project Finance magazine as its “North American Mezzanine Deal of the Year 2011” and by Power Finance & Risk as the runner-up for its 2011 “Best Renewables Deal.”
- Representing Meridiam Infrastructure in connection with an approximately US$495M project to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a new approximately 535,000 sq. ft. court building and certain related facilities in Long Beach, California, including the refinancing of the initial project debt in the private placement market; the Long Beach Court Building project is the first social infrastructure PPP in the United States and the first non-transportation PPP in California and was recognized by PPP Bulletinas a finalist for its “Best Accommodation Project” and was “Highly Commended” at Partnerships Awards 2012, by The Bond Buyeras its 2011 “Deal of the Year” for “an innovative financing of a traditional public finance project that did not involve municipal securities,” by Project Finance magazine as its “North American PPP Deal of the Year 2010” and by Infrastructure Journal as a finalist for its 2010 “Global PPP Deal of the Year;” the refinancing was recognized by Infrastructure Journal as a finalist for its 2013 “Deal of the Year – Social Infrastructure.”
- Representing an oil storage company, which is a cooperative venture between private entities and the Government of Panama, in a US$480M refinancing and expansion financing to reverse the flow of the existing 131 km pipeline running across the Panamanian isthmus connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean and the expansion of oil storage tank capacity on both ends of the pipeline; the transaction, the largest project financing ever in Central America, was recognized by Project Finance magazine as its “Latin American Refinancing Deal of the Year 2009.”
- Representing the project company subsidiary of an electric cooperative in connection with a US$600M project financing of its 25% undivided interest in a 900 MW supercritical pulverized coal-fired power plant.
- Representing a 695 MW coal-fired power plant in connection with the development, construction, equipping, and installation of an overhead coal conveyor system stretching approximately 4.5 miles that will transport coal from a mining operation in Pennsylvania to the power plant in West Virginia.
- Representing the initial purchaser in connection with the Rule 144A offering of approximately US$285M of bonds, the proceeds of which were used to finance a PPP, as part of the Department of Defense’s Military Housing Privatization Initiative, between the U.S. Air Force and a major real estate developer with respect to over 1,350 end-state housing units at Andrews AFB and MacDill AFB.
- Representing the New York Mets in the financing of a state-of-the-art 45,000 seat baseball stadium; initial financing was recognized by The Bond Buyer as its 2006 public finance “Deal of the Year” for “technical prowess and structure.”
Mike is the epitome of the quarterback; he is exceptional at crossing barriers and facilitating a resolution.
Chambers USA