Squire Patton Boggs

The Bond Buyer has announced the recipients of its annual Deal of the Year Awards, honoring outstanding achievement in municipal finance across 10 regional and supplemental categories. Squire Patton Boggs advised on three winning transactions recognized in the Midwest Region, Green Financing and Public-Private Partnership Financing categories. In the “Midwest Region” category, the firm served as bond and disclosure counsel to the Columbus Regional Airport for its approximately $1.21 billion issuance of AMT and non-AMT airport revenue bonds as its inaugural issuance to support a $2 billion capital program at John Glenn Columbus International. The transaction generated $4.11 billion in orders from 88 investors, expanding demand for AMT paper and allowing the Authority to advance $175 million of additional projects. The Squire Patton Boggs team was led by public and infrastructure finance partner Christopher J. Franzmann. In the “Green Financing” category, the firm served as co-bond counsel to the New York Transportation Development Corporation for its $1.95 billion green bond issuance for the JFK International Airport Terminal 6 Redevelopment. The financing advances a high-efficiency terminal program featuring rooftop solar, fully electric ground support, and stormwater capture and reuse. The transaction drew strong multi-segment investor demand that allowed the offering to be sizably upsized. The Squire Patton Boggs team was led by global head of transportation infrastructure finance and public and infrastructure finance partner Alethia N. Nancoo and public and infrastructure finance practice group leader and partner Catherine Z. Romanchek. In the “Public-Private Partnership Financing” category, the firm represented a consortium comprised of ACS Infrastructure, Acciona, and Meridiam for the Georgia SR 400 Express Lanes Project, which combined a record issuance of tax-exempt AMT bonds, the largest TIFIA loan to date, and a 50-year concession that delivered a $3.8 billion upfront concession fee to the State of Georgia while funding 16 miles of dynamically tolled lanes and future bus rapid transit improvements. The multibillion-dollar transportation project aims to improve safety, reduce congestion, and support multimodal mobility across metro Atlanta. The Squire Patton Boggs team was led by public and infrastructure finance counsel Gregory V. Johnson, Denver managing partner and environmental, safety and health global chair Peter S. Gould, and public policy partner Austin Harrison. “With a century-long tradition at the forefront of public finance, Squire Patton Boggs has uniquely positioned itself as a market leader, providing trusted bond counsel opinions,” said Ms. Romanchek. “Our diverse and innovative engagements showcase the strength of our Public & Infrastructure Finance team’s deep bench of talent and expertise, as well as the breadth of our national practice spanning more than a dozen offices. We are proud to contribute to projects that are shaping the municipal finance market and driving growth in the American economy.” The 2025 Deal of the Year Awards will be held on December 2 at Guastavino’s in New York City. All award winners are also finalists for the national Deal of the Year award, which will be announced at the close of the gala.

Squire Patton Boggs has advised Vital Energi, a leading provider of energy infrastructure solutions, on a £175 million fundraising through a Nordic Bond issue and the acquisition of the Port Clarence biomass facility in Teesside, marking a significant milestone in the company's strategic asset ownership growth plans. The bond is one of the largest Sterling-denominated Nordic Bond raises in the UK energy infrastructure sector. The multi-disciplinary Squire Patton Boggs team was led by Corporate partner James Fitzgibbon, and included Mariche Chambers, Matthew Ingram, Tom Cerdan and Caroline Morris (Financial Services), Darren Warburton, Louise Barber and Tom McClusky (Corporate), Patrick Ford and Alex Paterson (Tax Strategy and Benefits), Mark Barker, Rachel Koral and Holly Rowbottom (Real Estate), John Alderton and Vanessa Stuart (Restructuring and Insolvency), Ray O’Connor (Construction) and Kerry Lee (Intellectual Property and Technology). Vital Energi specialises in heat networks, renewable generation, power distribution, and energy-from-waste facilities. The £175 million Nordic Bond was issued through the Oslo Børs (Oslo Stock Exchange) in August 2025, providing flexibility for future strategic investments and partnerships. The Port Clarence biomass facility was acquired from Nuveen Infrastructure / Glenmont Infrastructure and represents the next phase of Vital Energi’s evolution from energy solutions provider to significant asset owner. Ashley Malin, managing director at Vital Energi, said: “Thanks to the team at Squire Patton Boggs for all of your support and going above and beyond on this fund raise and acquisition. We definitely couldn’t have done this without the support of the full team.” James Fitzgibbon commented: “Having worked with Vital Energi over a number of years, we are proud to assist one of the industry leaders on a milestone project that furthers its strategy to develop and own critical renewable energy generating assets and support the UK’s transition to sustainable energy. “This complex project involved specialist expertise from across the firm working together to structure and secure funding, manage the acquisition and development of the Port Clarence facility and assist with the company’s growth strategy. We look forward to continuing to support Vital Energi with its future plans.”