Matthew P. Einbinder

Matt Einbinder is a leading energy and infrastructure finance lawyer and serves as Co-Managing Partner of Simpson Thacher’s Houston office. He regularly represents borrowers, direct lenders and lenders in complex banking and credit transactions, including acquisition and bridge financings, project financings, back leverage financings, workout and restructuring situations and acquisitions of debt portfolios. Matt has been recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA, which reports that he is praised by clients for being “polished, thoughtful and quick” and always “deliver[ing] as promised.” Matt’s recent clients have included Apollo, BlackRock, Citi, EIG, EOC Partners, Essential Utilities, JPMorgan, Riverstone and Stonepeak. Matt was also recently recognized as a 2021 American Lawyer “Trailblazer” for the southern region, a Law360 “Rising Star” in the energy sector, a “Lawyer on the Rise” by Texas Lawyer and a “Next Generation Partner” by The Legal 500. 

His work includes: 

• Acquisition Finance Transactions. Borrowers, lenders and underwriters in a variety of leveraged and investment grade acquisition financings, including:
• Borrower
• Apollo Global Management in its significant capital commitment, through Apollo-managed infrastructure funds, in Yondr Group
• Essential Utilities (f/k/a as Aqua America) in its bridge and acquisition financing for its acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas in a transaction with an enterprise value of $4.275 billion
• BlackRock and Royal Vopak in its acquisition financing for three industrial terminals and associated storage capabilities from Dow for $620 million
• SouthWest Water Company in its financing arrangements for its acquisition of Ni Pacolet Milliken Utilities, a water utility business
• BlackRock and its portfolio company, Western Renewables Partners, in back leverage financing arrangements for its $750 million convertible preferred equity investment in NEP Renewables, awarded IJGlobal’s 2018 “North American M&A Deal of the Year”
• Lonestar Generation LLC, a Blackstone portfolio company, in financing related to its $685 million acquisition of three gas-fired generating facilities in Texas
• First Reserve Corporation and its portfolio company Templar Energy LLC in financings related to its acquisitions of oil and gas assets from Newfield Exploration Co. for $588 million and Forest Oil Corporation for $1 billion
• Peabody Energy Corporation in its $2.85 billion credit facility and its financing arrangements related to its acquisition of Australia based Macarthur Coal Limited
• Federal Reserve Board of New York in the financing of Maiden Lane LLC’s acquisition of $29 billion of assets from JPMorgan in connection with its acquisition of Bear Stearns and associated total return swap

• Lender
  
  • Private capital financing sources supporting the acquisition by McIntyre Partners of Moreld Apply, Moreld Ross Offshore and Moreld Global Maritime from Hitec Vision
  • Citi in Vantage Energy Acquisition Corp.’s proposed acquisition of acreage in the Bakken from QEP Energy Corporation for $1.65 billion
  • JPMorgan in its financing for SN EF SN Unsub, LP, an unrestricted subsidiary, in connection with the acquisition by Sanchez Energy and Blackstone Energy Partners of Eagle Ford acreage from Anadarko for $2.3 billion
  • JPMorgan in the financing arrangements for USA Compression Partners, LP for its acquisition of the compression business of Energy Transfer Partners for $1.8 billion

• Direct Lending Origination Transactions. 50+ direct lending deals in renewables, oil and gas, LNG and digital infrastructure space in forms such as development, project finance, back leverage, acquisition financing, bank replacement financing and distressed lending deals
• Oil and Gas Financings. Borrowers and lenders on multibillion dollars of RBLs, 2^nd lien and upstream development financings in the oil and gas space
  • A fund managed by the BlackRock Global Infrastructure business and Capital Power Investments LLC in the financing of the joint purchase of Harquahala Generation Company
• Project Finance Transactions. Lenders and borrowers on various greenfield project financings, including:
  • J.P. Morgan as coordinating lead arranger, joint bookrunner, administrative agent, depositary agent and collateral agent in Strata Clean Energy’s $559 million financing for the construction and ownership of the 255MW/1,020MWh Scatter Wash battery storage complex
  • Riverstone Credit Partners in its $100 million “Green Loan” financing for Circulus Holdings for the construction and operation of five low-density recycling facilities
  • Riverstone in providing project financing for IM3NY’s construction of a Lithium-Ion Gigafactory
  • Goldman Sachs in arranging $1 billion of TLB project financing for EPIC Crude Services
  • A portfolio company of Blackrock in two project financings for pipelines
  • RBC on the $900 million TLB project financing for Brazos Midstream and RBC on a $240 million financing for the construction of the cross-border Vantage Pipeline

• Restructuring Transactions. Multiple borrowers, direct lenders and lenders in comprehensive refinancings, in court and out of court restructurings, including those for Ferrellgas, Sable Land Company, White Stallion, Arsenal Resources, Templar Energy, Swift Energy, Quicksilver Resources and Blackjewel
• Debt Portfolio Acquisition Transactions. Acquirers/borrowers in acquiring and financings debt positions and portfolios through warehouse facilities, total return swaps, borrowing base facilities backed by acquired loans and financed acquisitions of participation interests

Matt has been also recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA, which reports that he is praised by clients for being “polished, thoughtful and quick” and always “deliver[ing] as promised.” A thought leader in his industry, he co-authored, with Corporate Partner Robert Rabalais, a chapter titled “Oil and Gas Reserve-Based Lending” in LSTA publication The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Lending & Structured Finance 2014.

Matt received his J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law in 2005, where he was on the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review, and his B.S. from Columbia University in 2000 in applied mathematics. He is admitted to practice in Texas, the District of Columbia, New York and California.