Claire Williams

Claire Williams is a Partner in the Firm’s Credit Practice, based in the London office and concentrating on infrastructure debt finance matters. She represents financial sponsors, funds and portfolio companies on complex cross-border financings across a wide range of infrastructure asset classes (including, among others, energy and energy transition, regulated utilities, transport and digital infrastructure). Claire has extensive experience on senior and subordinated financing structures for acquisition (including public-to-private), capex roll-out and refinancing transactions and regularly advises clients on multi-source and rated debt raisings.

Claire’s recent work highlights include advising:

• KKR Infrastructure in connection with financing its recommended offer to acquire ContourGlobal plc
• Blackstone in connection with financing its voluntary tender offer to acquire Atlantia S.p.A.
• John Laing in connection with the refinancing of certain holdco acquisition and development facilities
• Equitix in connection with the refinancing of certain holdco acquisition facilities
• Viridor in connection with its first investment grade rated multi-source financing structure to refinance existing debt in its EfW business
• KKR Infrastructure in connection with its recommended takeover offer for Ocean Yield A/S

Chambers UK named Claire an Infrastructure “Associate to Watch” in its 2022 and 2023 guides. Prior to joining Simpson Thacher, Claire was a senior associate in a magic circle law firm in London and spent time on secondment to 3i Infrastructure and JPMorgan.

Claire's experience prior to Simpson Thacher included representing:

• A consortium of Blackrock, Goldman Sachs and Mubadala in connection with the take private of Calisen plc
• Global Infrastructure Partners in connection with a refinancing for Edinburgh Airport
• Macquarie in connection with their acquisition of Currenta
• A consortium of Allianz and Macquarie in connection with their acquisition of Elenia
• A consortium of Macquarie and Danish pension funds in connection with their takeover offer for TDC
• A consortium led by Macquarie and CIC Capital in connection with the acquisition of a majority stake in National Grid's gas distribution business (now Cadent)
• 3i Infrastructure in connection with:
  • a refinancing for the Wireless Infrastructure Group
  • various institutional debt raisings for Scandlines
  • the refinancing of Belfast City Airport
• InfraCapital in connection with the acquisition and refinancing of Energetics
• Antin in connection with a refinancing and bolt-on acquisitions for Eurofiber