Martha Kammoun is an infrastructure finance partner in the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
She represents private equity sponsors, credit funds, developers and lenders across a broad range of debt finance transactions, including project financing, acquisition financing, and back leverage financing of greenfield and brownfield single-asset projects and portfolios involving tax equity. She also advises on the development, acquisition, sale, joint venture and restructuring of power assets and transition investments.
Her sector experience includes renewable and conventional power generation (solar, wind, offshore wind, gas), storage, transmission, renewable natural gas and other clean fuels, liquefied natural gas, carbon capture and sequestration, powering data centers, airports, railroads, and electric vehicle charging.
Martha is the former co-general counsel of a North American private equity fund and adjunct faculty member at Columbia University School of Law.
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Work Highlights
Martha's recent work highlights include advising:
- The lender in the $242 million backleverage financing to a 382 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of renewable assets consisting of 3 solar and storage projects located in Nevada, New Mexico and Minnesota.
- The sponsors in connection with the restructuring and issuance of incremental debt relating to one of the largest new combined cycle natural gas electric generating facilities in the United States.
- BlackRock Global Infrastructure and Capital Power Investments LLC in the financing for their acquisition of Harquahala Generation Company, LLC a 1,092 MW combined cycle gas generation facility located in Maricopa county, in Arizona.
- The financing parties in the approximately $586 million backleverage financing to an approximately 1,788 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of renewable assets consisting of 12 wind, solar and storage assets located in Minnesota, Montana, Texas, Iowa, Michigan, California, and Oklahoma.
- A BlackRock portfolio company in the upsizing and amendment of its debt facility to finance the construction and upgrade of propylene oxide storage tanks at a major industrial terminal in Texas.
- The lender in the $176 million backleverage financing to an approximately 953 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of wind generation assets consisting of 7 projects located in Oklahoma, Iowa, and Texas.
- A BlackRock portfolio company in connection with the issuance of approximately $119 million fixed rate notes to refinance existing debt relating to its natural gas and oil-fired simple and combined cycle electric generation facility.
- A BlackRock portfolio company in connection with the issuance of approximately $223 million in fixed rate notes, term loans and letters of credit to refinance existing debt relating to its fully re-contracted electric energy generating facility.
- Avnos, Inc. in its Series A financing round to develop novel Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC™) technology for carbon dioxide removal.
- The financing parties in the approximately $460 million backleverage financing to a 660 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of renewable assets consisting of 8 wind projects located in Colorado, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
- The financing parties in the approximately $409 million project financing to a 632 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of renewable assets consisting of 4 storage projects located in California and Arizona.
- The lender group in an approximately $290 million acquisition financing to acquire five operating fully contracted wind projects located in three different states from NextEra Energy Resources.
- IFM Net Zero Infrastructure Fund of IFM Investors in its acquisition of a majority interest in GreenGasUSA Holdings LLC, a producer of renewable natural gas and other renewable products including carbon dioxide, clean water and agricultural nutrients.
- KKR in its agreement to acquire a non-controlling interest in the Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 Project from Sempra Infrastructure.
- More than 60 initial purchasers of $1,065,000,000 series A senior secured notes in connection with a NextEra Energy portfolio of transmission lines including an undersea transmission system in California, Western Nevada, north central Texas and New Hampshire.
Work prior to joining Simpson Thacher includes advising:
- Equinor in several transactions, including its: $1.1 billion sale of a 50 percent interest in two US offshore wind development projects to BP, and formation of a partnership to develop and operate the Empire Wind project offshore New York and Beacon Wind project offshore Massachusetts, which together could generate up to 4.4 GW; purchase and sales agreements and conditional grant agreements with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in support of the 1,260 MW Empire Wind 2 and the 1,230 MW Beacon Wind projects
- A private equity sponsor in several transactions, including its: multiple portfolio acquisitions, Term Loan A and Term Loan B financings and refinancings, and partial sales of thermal generation assets aggregating more than 3 GW of power generation across the United States; the sale of a 660 MW transmission line connecting New York City and New Jersey, and the development of a 3.2 GW transmission line connecting California and Arizona; the acquisition, development, construction and tax equity financing, and sale of onshore wind assets in Texas and Ohio
- A private equity sponsor in the refinancing of credit facilities for a fixed based operations (FBO) servicer operating in 62 airports in the United States; the lenders in the acquisition financing of a technology-enabled worldwide provider of Unit Load Devices (ULD), cargo control and air freight products, and logistics services for the aviation industry; the winning consortium in a bid to rebuild and operate a major airport in New York
- SteelRiver Infrastructure Fund North America LP in its acquisitions of the natural gas distribution business of EQT Corporation and a leading operator of short line and regional railroads in 13 states of the United States
- Several international sponsors in connection with South Africa’s independent procurement program for 3,725 MW of electricity to be generated by renewable energy sources
Education
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Harvard Law School, 2002 LL.M.
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Universite Saint-Joseph, 2001 LL.B.
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ESCP Business School, 2019 Executive Masters in Energy Management
Martha Kammoun is an infrastructure finance partner in the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
She represents private equity sponsors, credit funds, developers and lenders across a broad range of debt finance transactions, including project financing, acquisition financing, and back leverage financing of greenfield and brownfield single-asset projects and portfolios involving tax equity. She also advises on the development, acquisition, sale, joint venture and restructuring of power assets and transition investments.
Her sector experience includes renewable and conventional power generation (solar, wind, offshore wind, gas), storage, transmission, renewable natural gas and other clean fuels, liquefied natural gas, carbon capture and sequestration, powering data centers, airports, railroads, and electric vehicle charging.
Martha is the former co-general counsel of a North American private equity fund and adjunct faculty member at Columbia University School of Law.
Martha's recent work highlights include advising:
- The lender in the $242 million backleverage financing to a 382 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of renewable assets consisting of 3 solar and storage projects located in Nevada, New Mexico and Minnesota.
- The sponsors in connection with the restructuring and issuance of incremental debt relating to one of the largest new combined cycle natural gas electric generating facilities in the United States.
- BlackRock Global Infrastructure and Capital Power Investments LLC in the financing for their acquisition of Harquahala Generation Company, LLC a 1,092 MW combined cycle gas generation facility located in Maricopa County, in Arizona.
- The financing parties in the approximately $586 million backleverage financing to an approximately 1,788 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of renewable assets consisting of 12 wind, solar and storage assets located in Minnesota, Montana, Texas, Iowa, Michigan, California, and Oklahoma.
- A BlackRock portfolio company in the upsizing and amendment of its debt facility to finance the construction and upgrade of propylene oxide storage tanks at a major industrial terminal in Texas.
- The lender in the $176 million backleverage financing to an approximately 953 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of wind generation assets consisting of 7 projects located in Oklahoma, Iowa, and Texas.
- A BlackRock portfolio company in connection with the issuance of approximately $119 million fixed rate notes to refinance existing debt relating to its natural gas and oil-fired simple and combined cycle electric generation facility.
- A BlackRock portfolio company in connection with the issuance of approximately $223 million in fixed rate notes, term loans and letters of credit to refinance existing debt relating to its fully re-contracted electric energy generating facility.
- Avnos, Inc. in its Series A financing round to develop novel Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC™) technology for carbon dioxide removal.
- The financing parties in the approximately $460 million backleverage financing to a 660 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of renewable assets consisting of 8 wind projects located in Colorado, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
- The financing parties in the approximately $409 million project financing to a 632 MW NextEra Energy portfolio of renewable assets consisting of 4 storage projects located in California and Arizona.
- The lender group in an approximately $290 million acquisition financing to acquire five operating fully contracted wind projects located in three different states from NextEra Energy Resources.
- IFM Net Zero Infrastructure Fund of IFM Investors in its acquisition of a majority interest in GreenGasUSA Holdings LLC, a producer of renewable natural gas and other renewable products including carbon dioxide, clean water and agricultural nutrients.
- KKR in its agreement to acquire a non-controlling interest in the Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 Project from Sempra Infrastructure.
- More than 60 initial purchasers of $1,065,000,000 series A senior secured notes in connection with a NextEra Energy portfolio of transmission lines including an undersea transmission system in California, Western Nevada, north central Texas and New Hampshire.
Work prior to joining Simpson Thacher includes advising:
- Equinor in several transactions, including its: $1.1 billion sale of a 50 percent interest in two US offshore wind development projects to BP, and formation of a partnership to develop and operate the Empire Wind project offshore New York and Beacon Wind project offshore Massachusetts, which together could generate up to 4.4 GW; purchase and sales agreements and conditional grant agreements with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in support of the 1,260 MW Empire Wind 2 and the 1,230 MW Beacon Wind projects
- A private equity sponsor in several transactions, including its: multiple portfolio acquisitions, Term Loan A and Term Loan B financings and refinancings, and partial sales of thermal generation assets aggregating more than 3 GW of power generation across the United States; the sale of a 660 MW transmission line connecting New York City and New Jersey, and the development of a 3.2 GW transmission line connecting California and Arizona; the acquisition, development, construction and tax equity financing, and sale of onshore wind assets in Texas and Ohio
- A private equity sponsor in the refinancing of credit facilities for a fixed based operations (FBO) servicer operating in 62 airports in the United States; the lenders in the acquisition financing of a technology-enabled worldwide provider of Unit Load Devices (ULD), cargo control and air freight products, and logistics services for the aviation industry; the winning consortium in a bid to rebuild and operate a major airport in New York
- SteelRiver Infrastructure Fund North America LP in its acquisitions of the natural gas distribution business of EQT Corporation and a leading operator of short line and regional railroads in 13 states of the United States
- Several international sponsors in connection with South Africa’s independent procurement program for 3,725 MW of electricity to be generated by renewable energy sources
Fluent in both French and Arabic, Martha received her LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2002 and her LL.B. from Saint-Joseph University in 2001. She received an Executive Masters in Energy Management in 2019 from the ESCP Business School. Martha is admitted to the Bar Association of the State of New York.