Kyle R. Smit

Kyle Smit is a Partner in the Energy and Infrastructure Practice, where he focuses on M&A matters. Based in New York, he represents developers and private equity funds involved in the energy and infrastructure sectors on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, spin-offs, restructurings, tax equity financings and other corporate and financing transactions. His key areas of focus are power generation and transmission; renewable energy, including solar, onshore and offshore wind and hydroelectric; and infrastructure, including electric vehicle charging network projects.

His experience includes advising:

• Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, in its agreement to acquire a majority and controlling interest in Summit Ridge Energy, one of the United States' leading commercial solar power companies
• Cerberus Capital Management in its equity investment in, and related joint venture arrangements with Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. and Hudson Bay Capital Management with respect to, Frontier Power USA ("FPUSA"), and various related acquisitions of development-stage battery energy storage system projects
• Stonepeak and a buyer consortium with Bernhard Capital Partners in an agreement to acquire Cleco Group LLC from a consortium comprised of Macquarie Asset Management, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and Manulife Investment Management

Notable experience prior to joining Simpson Thacher includes advising:

• LS Power in a number of acquisitions and divestitures, including (i) its acquisition of EVgo, the U.S.’s largest public fast charging network for electric vehicles, and subsequently EVgo in its joint development with General Motors; (ii) its acquisition of approximately 3,950 MW of natural gas and wind generation resources in the Northeastern U.S. from TransCanada Corporation and (iii) its acquisition of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.’s renewable energy business, including certain tax equity-related matters in connection therewith
• ArcLight Capital Partners in a number of acquisitions and divestitures, including its acquisition of approximately 4,850 MWs of thermal generating assets from NRG Energy, Inc.
• BlackRock in a number of acquisitions, including (i) its acquisition of 752 MW of wind assets across seven sites in Pennsylvania, Illinois, California and New York and (ii) its acquisition from General Electric of its C&I solar business
• SB Energy, backed by SoftBank Group Corp. and Ares Climate Infrastructure, on the tax equity financings of eight utility-scale solar generating projects in California and Texas
• Rise Light & Power, a portfolio company of LS Power, in its acquisition of an interest in the 1.4 gigawatt Attentive Energy One offshore wind project
• Tiger Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition of Unison Energy LLC, a fully-integrated Energy-as-a-Service platform that provides behind-the-meter microgrid solutions

Kyle received his LL.B., cum laude, from the University of Pretoria, where he was the recipient of the Academic Honorary Colours and the Securities Law Subject Prize, a merit-based academic scholarship. He received his BSc in Banking & Finance, with honors, from the London School of Economics.