Marwan Azzi

Marwan Azzi is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of the firm’s Private Equity Practice Group. Mr. Azzi’s practice focuses on representing companies, private equity and infrastructure funds, and management teams in global investments in the infrastructure space, including assisting clients with domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, project development, co-investments, and other corporate matters. Mr. Azzi’s infrastructure experience spans the energy space (power generation, energy transition, and midstream), transportation, digital infrastructure and social infrastructure in North America and Latin America.

Mr. Azzi is recognized as a "Leading Lawyer" for M&A and Private Equity in the United States by Euromoney (2020). He is also a recipient of a "40 under 40 Emerging Leaders Award" by The M&A Advisor (2018).

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Azzi was a partner at White & Case LLP. He serves as current Chairman of the Board of ABANA and also serves on the board of LIFE Lebanon.

Mr. Azzi received his LLM from Boston University and earned his LLB from St. Joseph University (Lebanon). He is admitted to practice in New York and Beirut.

Mr. Azzi’s experience includes the representation of:

Transportation Infrastructure

• Meridiam in its acquisition of an additional stake in LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP) from Skanska. 
• Antin Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition of Lake State Railway Company, a Michigan-based regional freight railroad.
• I Squared Capital in its:
  • Portfolio company’s Star Leasing’s acquisition of Commercial Trailer Leasing (CTL), a full service trailer lessor.
  • Portfolio company’s Star Leasing’s acquisition of North East Trailer Services (NETS), a full service trailer lessor.
  • Acquisition of a controlling stake in Colombian port concessionaire Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Barranquilla S.A. from private equity firm Southern Cross Group.
  • Acquisition of Star Leasing, a leading trailer lessor in the United States.
  • Portfolio company's American Intermodal Management’s merger with FlexiVan Leasing, the third-largest marine chassis provider in the United States.
• UniSuper Ltd., as part of a consortium of investors, in the US$2.1 billion acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Transurban's toll roads in the US. Transurban sold a 50 percent interest in its US toll roads located in the Chesapeake region, which was purchased in part by AustralianSuper, CPPIB and UniSuper.

Power & Energy

• I Squared Capital in its:
  • Portfolio company’s Inkia Energy’s sale of Peruvian power generator Samay I SA, operator of the 724 MW Puerto Privado thermal power plant, to Grupo Romero.
  • Portfolio company’s Inkia Energy’s sale of Energuate, its electricity distribution asset in Guatemala, to Threelands Energy Ltd.
  • Portfolio company’s Inkia Energy’s sale of the Agua Clara wind farm in the Dominican Republic to AES.
  • Sale of interests in Kendall Green Energy, a cogeneration facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Veolia Energy North America.
  • US$1.3 billion acquisition of Inkia Energy, which has a highly contracted portfolio of approximately 3,400 MW of gross installed capacity in nine countries, with a fleet of highly efficient hydroelectric, wind and thermal facilities.
  • US$1.2 billion acquisition from Duke Energy of a portfolio of hydroelectric and natural gas generation plants, transmission infrastructure and natural gas processing facilities, totaling 2,300 MW in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina.
  • Acquisition of an equity interest in Oleoducto Central, S.A. (OCENSA) from Advent International. OCENSA operates the largest crude oil pipeline in Colombia.
• Ardian and Agr-Am in the acquisition of the Peruvian business of Latin America Power Holding B.V., a renewable energy company.
• Sempra Energy in its:
  • US$3.59 billion sale of its Peruvian businesses including its 83.6 percent in Luz Del Sur to China Yangtze Power International (Hongkong) Co., Limited. The transaction was named "M&A Deal of the Year" by China Business Law Journal in 2020.
  • US$2.23 billion sale of its Chilean businesses, including its 100 percent stake in Chilquinta Energía S.A., to State Grid International Development Limited (SGID). The transaction was named "M&A Deal of the Year" by China Business Law Journal in 2020.
• GE Energy Financial Services in its acquisition of 49 percent of EGPNA Renewable Energy Partners LLC from Enel Green Power SpA. The partnership has assets in North America with 760 MW of generating capacity.

Digital Infrastructure

• I Squared Capital in the acquisition of KIO Networks, a leading digital infrastructure service provider in Mexico.
• Ardian Infrastructure in the acquisition of a 50% co-control equity interest in MXT Holdings, a Mexico-based telecommunications infrastructure company and MXT’s follow-on acquisition of Centennial Towers Mexico from Madison Dearborn Partners.
• InfraBridge and its portfolio company Everstream as a borrower in connection with a syndicated credit facility and in a potential bolt-on acquisition.

Sustainability

• Antin Infrastructure Partners in its investment in PearlX Infrastructure LLC,  an owner and operator of fully integrated smart grid infrastructure systems.
• Blue Earth Capital AG in its investment in AMP Robotics Corp., a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and infrastructure for the waste and recycling industry.
• Blue Water Energy LLP's portfolio company in a joint venture with NextEra to develop, operate and market mobile and onsite gas liquefaction technology in the US market.

Other M&A

• Harkness Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in New York, in the sale of Kane Logistics to ID Logistics. Kane is a third-party logistics company (3PL) that provides value-added warehousing and distribution services.
• Dominus Capital, L.P. a private equity firm based in New York, in the sale of W.F. Taylor, LLC to Meridian Adhesives Group. Taylor is a leading specialty flooring adhesives and sealants manufacturer with operations in Dalton, GA and Fontana, CA.
• Pernod Ricard SA, the world's second-largest distiller, in the acquisition of Rabbit Hole Spirits, LLC, a US premium bourbon brand.
• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in its US$500 million minority investment in Mexican pharma business Sanfer.
• Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE), a Brazilian mining company and the largest producer of iron ore and nickel in the world, in the $550 million acquisition of Ferrous Resources Limited, a mid-sized iron ore company also located in Brazil.

*Includes representations prior to Mr. Azzi’s association with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Capabilities

• Private Equity
• Infrastructure
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Projects

Credentials

Education:

• Boston University - 2007 Master of Laws (LL.M.)
• Saint Joseph University - Beirut - 2002 Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)

Admissions:

• Lebanon - Beirut Bar Association
• New York Bar