Steven Bunkin

Every year we publish the McDermott Will & Schulte Private Markets Update. This year I was given the opportunity to look ahead to what major trends I expect to drive M&A in 2026, ranging from continued strategic portfolio allocation to companies seeking to shorten global supply chains to "all that is old is new again" types of state investments as countries' understanding of national security expands into economic activities.   Read more about the trends shaping cross-border M&A in McDermott Will & Schulte’s 2026 Private Markets Update: https://lnkd.in/ec2QUT2F

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McDermott Will & Schulte successfully represented Two Seas Capital LP in its proxy campaign against Core Scientific, Inc.’s proposed sale to CoreWeave, Inc., which shareholders had rejected. The McDermott team, led by Ele Klein and Brandon Gold, included Danny Goldstein, Samuel Dayan, John Treon, and Sarah Reichek. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eVj7J9Ng

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Simpson Thacher is representing affiliates of EQT Infrastructure VI in connection with the announced definitive agreement for a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT, along with co-underwriters California Public Employees’ Retirement System and Qatar Investment Authority, to acquire The AES Corporation for $15.00 per share, representing a total equity value of $10.7 billion and an enterprise value of approximately $33.4 billion, including the assumption of existing debt. The transaction is expected to close in late 2026 or early 2027, subject to approval by AES stockholders, the receipt of applicable federal, state and foreign regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.   AES is a leading utility and power generation company based in Arlington, Virginia and the transaction will better position AES to drive long-term growth across its business units, including regulated electric utilities and competitive clean energy in the U.S. and critical energy infrastructure assets in Latin America.   This is one of the largest private equity-led take privates in the global power and energy markets and one of North America's largest private equity transactions in history.   To learn more, click here: https://lnkd.in/eX9tYfpw

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Hogan Lovells advised ICG Infra on its partnership with W Power Storage, a German platform specialising in grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS). With ICG Infra’s backing, the platform plans to deploy up to €500m to deliver its multi-gigawatt BESS project pipeline, strengthening energy security and advancing the energy transition in Germany. 🔗 Read more about the transaction below: https://lnkd.in/esG7FkDA

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White & Case LLP has advised Mill Point Capital LLC (Mill Point), on the financing for Voltaris Power LLC (Voltaris), a portfolio company of Mill Point, and its acquisition of Electronic Power Design, LLC (EPD), a Houston, Texas-based provider of mission-critical power distribution equipment and solutions serving data center, commercial and industrial markets. Read more. https://ow.ly/12yV50ZJYqr

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QEP Exemption is back - see the update below on the CFTC’s recent no-action letter and plans to restore the QEP Exemption through formal rulemaking- although timing is unknown, particularly in light of the recent confirmation of a new Chairman.

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Congratulations to our client TotalEnergies for completing this signature transaction in Rwanda. Key highlights include: 1) The efficient cookstoves deployed by the project are expected to reduce harmful smoke emissions by 81% compared to traditional open fires and reduce wood consumption by 71%. 2) The project should also prevent the emission of more than 2.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent over the next ten years. 3) The carbon credits generated by the project will be certified initially by the international organization VERRA, pending their approval under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement Credit Mechanism as soon as the latter is operational. More information is available here: https://lnkd.in/eqtcJH-5. A special shout-out to the TotalEnergies team who worked on this, including Pascal Siegwart, Laurie Reboul and Alban de Villeneuve. Also, to the Latham team who helped with this, including Qingyi Pan and Tal Carmeli.

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