Michael Shenberg

Partner, New York

Biography

Michael Shenberg is a prominent figure in the electricity industry who has a particular aptitude for advising on M&A transactions. Clients say: “He’s wicked smart, has good business sense, and knows how to manage a deal and get it done.”
Chambers USA 2018

Overview

A recognized leader in his field, Michael focuses on energy M&A, capital markets and financing transactions. He is Head of White & Case's North America Power Industry Group and is ranked in Band 1 for Nationwide Energy: Electricity by Chambers USA.

Michael has represented financial and strategic investors in numerous deals involving the purchase or sale of energy assets, including large portfolios, single-asset deals and joint ventures. Additionally, he advises energy company clients on financings including restructurings and corporate and commercial matters.

Bars and Courts
New York State Bar
New Jersey State Bar
Education
JD
New York University School of Law
cum laude, Member, Order of the Coif, Note Editor, New York University Law Review
BA
Rutgers University
Languages
English

Experience

Recent matters include the representation of:

  • GenOn Holdings in the sale of the Bowline Power Project, located in New York, to affiliates of Rockland Power Partners.
  • Affiliates of Beal Bank USA in the sale of the Temple 2 Generating Station to BKV-BPP Power, LLC, a joint venture between BKV Corporation and Banpu Power US Corporation. Temple 2 is located in Texas.
  • EnCap Investments in its sale of Jupiter Power LLC, a leading operator and developer of stand-alone, utility-scale battery energy storage systems in the United States and a portfolio company of EnCap, to an affiliate of BlackRock Alternatives.
  • JERA Americas in its acquisition of four thermal power generating facilities in New England, with a combined capacity of 1,633 MW, from Stonepeak.
  • Onward Energy, a portfolio company of J.P. Morgan Asset Management Infrastructure Investments Group, in its acquisition of two combined-cycle, gas-fired power generation facilities located in South Carolina and Maryland.
  • Broad Reach Power LLC, a leading utility-scale energy storage and renewable energy platform in the US, in its sale of a 50 percent equity interest to funds managed by Apollo.
  • The Carlyle Group in the US$590 million acquisition of three natural gas-fired generation facilities in New England, with combined capacity of 1,100 MW, from Emera Inc., and in its acquisition and subsequent sale to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure of the Red Oak Power Plant in New Jersey.
  • Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) in its acquisition of John Laing Group's stakes in two wind farms in the US, its first North American renewable energy investment.
  • Calpine Corporation in its US$17 billion sale to Energy Capital Partners, an energy-focused private equity firm, and a consortium of investors including Access Industries and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.
  • Calpine Corporation in other transactions, including in:
    • its acquisition of 25 percent of the Russell City Energy Center from GE, which resulted in Calpine's 100 percent ownership;
    • its sale of two gas-fired power plants, Garrison Energy Center, a 325 MW combined cycle plant located in Delaware, and RockGen Energy Center, a 503 MW peaker located in Wisconsin, to Starwood Energy.
    • its US$1.05 billion acquisition of Noble Americas Energy Solutions, LLC (NAES), the nation's largest independent retail supplier of power to commercial and industrial retail customers;
    • its US$395.5 million sale of Mankato Power Plant, a 375 MW natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant located in Minnesota, to Southern Company;
    • its sale of South Point Energy Center, an approximately 504 MW natural gas-fired, combined-cycle, electric generation facility on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation in Mohave Valley, Arizona, to Nevada Power Company;
    • its US$500 million acquisition of the Granite Ridge Energy Center, a 745 MW combined-cycle, gas-fired power plant located in Londonderry, New Hampshire;
    • its US$530 million acquisition of Fore River Generating Station, a nominal 809 MW combined-cycle power plant, from Exelon Corporation;
    • its US$625 million acquisition of Guadalupe Generating Facility, a nominal 1,050 MW, combined-cycle, natural gas-fired power plant located in Guadalupe County, Texas, from Wayzata Investment Partners LLC; and
    • its US$1.57 billion sale of six power plants, located in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina and comprising 3,498 MW of combined-cycle generation capacity, to NatGen Southeast Power LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of LS Power Equity Partners III.
  • Dynegy Inc. in its US$119 million sale of two intermediate gas-fueled plants located in Dighton and Milford, Massachusetts to Starwood Energy.
  • IFM Investors, in the sale of Essential Power, a 1,767 net MW power generation portfolio with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey to The Carlyle Group, and of a minority interest in DQE Holdings.
  • Global Infrastructure Partners in the acquisition of the principal holdings of Competitive Power Ventures.
  • Dynegy Inc. in the acquisition of a 28.1 percent interest in the Wm. H. Zimmer Generating Station and a 36 percent interest in Miami Fort Unit 7 and Miami Fort Unit 8.
  • Dynegy Inc., in its US$2.8 billion acquisition of ownership interests in certain Midwest generation assets from Duke Energy Corp. The sale, which included 11 Duke natural gas, coal and oil power plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois as well as its retail sales business, was part of a US$6.25 billion acquisition of power plants from Duke Energy Corp. and private equity firm Energy Capital Partners.
  • Dogwood Energy, LLC in the US$26,597,520 sale of a 8.2 percent undivided interest in the Dogwood Energy Facility, a 650 MW natural gas combined cycle facility located in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, to Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission, a governmental body of the State of Missouri, and in the sale of other minority owners' interests to other governmental entities.
  • Kelson Energy, Inc. in its sale of a 968 MW natural gas-fired power plant to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
  • A public utility holding company in the divestiture of various generating assets, including a pumped-storage facility.
Awards and Recognition

Band 1 – Nationwide Energy: Electricity, Chambers Global and Chambers USA, 2022

Leading Lawyer, Energy Transactions: Conventional Power, Legal 500 US, 2022

Recognized Individual for M&A: Large Deals and Energy Transactions: Conventional Power, Legal 500 US, 2021

Leading Individual for M&A in the United States, Euromoney, 2021