Adam C.R. Schmelzer

ADAM SCHMELZER focuses his practice on strategic transactions and project development across the energy, infrastructure, and natural resources sectors, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and tax equity. He represents private capital, sovereign wealth funds, national and private energy companies, and project developers in complex U.S. and cross-border transactions.

Adam has also practiced in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and has significant experience advising on global transactions, particularly those involving East Asia-based clients. His experience includes acting for global and state-owned energy and infrastructure clients on their acquisitions, investments, and divestments, as well as completing investments in sensitive and highly-regulated sectors.

Renewables

• Energy Harbor Corp. on its US$3.43 billion acquisition by Vistra Corp., a leading Fortune 500 integrated electricity and power generation company, to combine nuclear and clean energy power generation assets.
• A portfolio company of a multinational investment bank and asset manager on its partnership to co-develop 1.25 gigawatts of floating solar projects in the Philippines.
• An industrial conglomerate in its purchase of tax credits (~US$100 million) from an integrated recycling, solar, and battery energy storage facility.
• An electric cooperative on its solar and battery energy storage system power purchase arrangements from a national energy company and power producer.
• A regulated utility in its asset acquisition of a 200MW solar project.
• A regulated utility in its asset acquisition of 220MW wind project.
• A regulated utility in its asset acquisition of a solar and battery energy storage system project.
• A US renewable energy developer in the ~US$110 million sale of its wind energy project company and related assets.
• A US renewable energy developer in the ~US$90 million sale of its wind power asset development project company to a global power producer and energy infrastructure company.
• A European renewable energy investor and asset manager in a tax credit minority equity sale in a wind and solar project located in Texas.
• A Fortune 500 company in several tax credit transfer purchases valued at hundreds of millions of dollars each.

Oil & Gas

• Sinopec on its ~US$11 billion strategic joint venture with SIBUR of the Amur petrochemical complex, set to house one of the world's largest and most advanced polymer production facilities. The transaction was recognized as the 2020 Projects & Energy Deal of the Year by China Law & Practice and 2020 Deal of the Year (Russia) by CEE Legal Matters.
• Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation on its overseas divestment of oil assets in Argentina to Compania General de Combustibles SA (the first prominent overseas divestment by a China state-owned oil and gas company).
• A publicly-listed energy company on its ~US$250 million acquisition of a super major's operating interest in gas assets offshore a Southeast Asian country.
• Sinopec Capital in its pre-initial public offering investment and strategic cooperation arrangements with LanzaTech, a global biotechnology company engaged in developing microbial catalyst technology to convert CO and CO2 into energy (renewable fuel).
• An energy conglomerate on numerous liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo purchases and the operation of its LNG terminal in a Southeast Asian country.
• An East Asian oil company on its bid for an integrated energy company’s portfolio assets in Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Mexico.
• A national oil company in connection with its proposed divestment of its oil and gas upstream assets in an African country.

M&A and Corporate Finance

• GIC on its direct and indirect consortium co-investment to acquire Nielsen NV (~US$16.7 billion valuation) and its direct consortium co-investment to take private a global software services company, Zendesk Inc. (~US$10.1 billion valuation).
• A sovereign wealth fund on its direct consortium co-investment to acquire a global analytics company (~US$1.5 billion valuation).
• Several private equity and consortium funds on strategic late-stage investments in semiconductor, battery technology, biologics, immunotherapy, genetic diagnostics, biochemical, aerospace, and electric vehicle targets in the United States and Europe.
• Exiger, a global SaaS supply chain management software company, on its acquisition of Ion Channel, a software supply chain risk management platform.
• A public industrial conglomerate on its add-on acquisition of a regional packaging and automation company.
• An East Asian conglomerate in its PIPE and strategic joint venture with a novel chemicals technology company.
• A Chinese conglomerate in its proposed acquisition of a European cold chain logistics company.
• A Chinese conglomerate in its proposed share purchase of an Australian logistics company.

The above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.