Dolly Mirchandani

Partner, New York

Biography

“Dolly Mirchandani has considerable prowess assisting clients with their PPP project development and financing goals across the transportation and social infrastructure sectors.”
Chambers USA 2023

“Dolly is commercially minded, practical, knowledgeable, and driven to move deals forward. It's not just the documentation she is concerned about, but how it conveys the commercial arrangement to the various parties.”
Chambers USA 2023

Sources say Dolly Mirchandani is “extremely knowledgeable in the project finance space.” “Dolly is truly unique in her creative approach to the most complex legal and commercial issues.” “She is very pragmatic, thoughtful and commercial.”
Chambers USA 2023

Overview

Dolly Mirchandani is Head of the Firm's Global Infrastructure, Transportation and Logistics Group.

Dolly's practice focuses on the infrastructure and energy sector, including public private partnerships, reflecting 25 years of experience working on some of the most significant deals in the sector. She represents sponsors, infrastructure funds, commercial banks, institutional lenders, contractors, secondary market investors and governments in the tender, development, acquisition and financing of greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects. Dolly has advised across multiple infrastructure asset classes including surface transportation (airports, ports, roads, parking, bridges, transit and rail), water and wastewater, waste management, district energy, digital and social infrastructure. Her breadth of practice and decades of experience allows her to anticipate concerns, propose solutions and promote agreement. She has played a leading role in the introduction of private investment and finance in the infrastructure sector in North America, having advised on multiple, award-winning transactions, including ones that were first-of-their-kind.

Dolly is, without a doubt, one of the most widely respected and successful practitioners in her field. She is ranked Band 1 - Projects: PPP by both Chambers USA and Chambers Global and was recently placed on the Roll Call of Elite for Project Finance in Euromoney's Best of the Best USA Expert Guide. She has also been named among IFLR1000's Women Leaders for Project Finance and Project Development in the United States and awarded Global Leader status for both Project Finance and Government Contracts in Who's Who Legal.

Bars and Courts
New York State Bar
Education
LLM
Harvard Law School
BA Jurisprudence
University of Oxford
New College
Languages
English

Experience

Recent acquisitions

Representation of Ridgewood Private Equity Partners in connection with their acquisition of a majority equity interest in Vista Ridge LLC, the concessionaire for a 142-mile water pipeline in Texas, the offtaker of which is the San Antonio Water System. We have negotiated several amendments to the Water Purchase Agreement, navigated the Project through successful achievement of COD and advised on a $1.05 billion refinancing of the Project 's construction financing at the end of 2020, implemented as a US private placement. The refinancing was recently awarded "Americas Water Deal of the Year" by IJ Global 2020. The original project was awarded "North America Water Deal of the Year" by IJGlobal 2017 and Project Finance International 2017, and "Water Deal of the Year" by Global Water Intelligence 2017 and "Best Utilities Project, Gold Award" P3 Bulletin 2017.

Representation of DIF Capital Partners, a leading global investment fund manager with €9.0 billion in AUM, in their acquisition of Bernhard, LLC, the largest privately-owned energy-as-a-service (EaaS) provider in the U.S. Bernhard enters into long-term turnkey EaaS concession contracts predominantly with higher education and healthcare institution customers to upgrade, retrofit and service their large existing building energy facilities in order to achieve substantial energy savings.

Representation of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Inc., a leading global infrastructure investment platform, in its acquisition of Seven Seas Water Corporation, AquaVenture Holdings Inc. and AquaVenture Holdings Curacao N.V., a multinational developer, owner and operator of water production and wastewater treatment plants and businesses, from AI Aqua (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l, a company owned by Advent International Corporation.

Representation of UniSuper Ltd. as part of a consortium of investors in the US$2.1 billion acquisition of a 50% stake in Transurban's toll roads in the US. Transurban sold a 50% interest in its US toll roads, which was bought in part by AustralianSuper, CPPIB and UniSuper.

 

Recent financings

Representation of the U.S. Department of Transportation in connection with the financing by Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development of a group of road and bridge projects in Louisiana.

Representation of the Seven Seas Water group of companies, a portfolio water treatment business of North Haven Investment Partners III, a fund managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, in the term loan financing provided by Deutsche Bank and Comvest used to (i) recapitalize the Seven Seas Water group of companies and repay the equity bridge financing used to pay acquisition purchase price and other existing debt and (ii) finance the acquisition by SSW of Sembcorp's Panama water treatment and supply business.

Representation of the institutional investors in the US$1billion tax-exempt (PABs) financing for the Carlsbad Desalination Project in Carlsbad, California. Sponsored by Poseidon Water and executed as a private placement, and was the first desalination project of its kind to close in California. This project was awarded "North American Water Deal of the Year" by Project Finance 2012.*

 

Recent PPPs

Representation of ACS Infrastructure Development, Balfour Beatty Investments, Bombardier Transportation, Fluor Corporation and Hochtief PPP Solutions in their successful bid for and financial close of the APM project of the LAX Landside Access Modernization Program. The financing consisted of a combined bank bond structure with US$1.2 billion of private activity bonds, which were rated investment grade by Fitch combined with a US$270 million, five-year construction facility provided by commercial banks. The project was awarded "Best Transit Project" by P3 Bulletin 2018, "Americas P3 Deal of the Year" by Project Finance International 2018 and "North American PPP Deal of the Year" by IJGlobal 2018.

Representation of the lenders on a US$310 million senior secured term loan facility and US$33 million letter of credit facility provided to EWR Conrac, LLC in connection with the project financing of the Consolidated Rent-A-Car project at Newark International Airport. Underpinned by a lease agreement entered into by the borrower with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the project comprises the development, construction and operation of a joint-use structured parking facility at Newark Liberty International Airport, a portion of which will be used as a public parking facility and a portion of which will be used as a consolidated rental car facility. Awarded "Best Financial Structure" by P3 Bulletin 2020, "Americas P3 Deal of the Year" by PFI 2019, "Airport Deal of the Year" by IJ Americas Awards 2019 and "North America PPP Deal of the Year" by Proximo 2019.

Representation of Seven Seas Water Corporation on a Water Supply Agreement entered into with the City of Alice, Texas pursuant to which Seven Seas will construct, own and operate a brackish water reverse osmosis desalination plant on a site leased from the City.

Representation of Transurban in connection with the I-395 HOT Lanes project in Virginia, an expansion of Transurban's successful I-95 HOT Lanes project in Virginia, which involved renegotiation of the comprehensive agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation, solicitation of consents from existing bondholders and the US DOT, issuance of additional parity private activity bonds and negotiation of Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank loan arrangements with the Virginia Resource Authority.*

Representation of Engie, Axium Infrastructure and Cofely in connection with their successful bid for OSU's Comprehensive Energy Management Project.*

Representation of Deutsche Bank in connection with the Green Corridor road project, the first P3 project in Aruba. This project was awarded "Caribbean Deal of the Year" by Latin Finance 2016.*

Representation of Regional Transportation District of Denver on the US$1.2 billion Eagle P3 Rail Project in Denver, Colorado. The project was awarded the American Road and Transportation Builders Association's "P3 Project of the Year", "North American Transportation Deal of the Year" by Project Finance 2010 and was hailed by Infrastructure Journal as 'landmark' and 'an example of how a project of this type can be completed successfully.'*

 

*All matters prior to joining White & Case

Awards and Recognition

2023 Rainmaker
Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) 2023

Band 1 - Projects: PPP - USA - Nationwide
Chambers USA 2023

Band 1 - Projects: PPP - USA
Chambers Global 2023

PPP/PFI, Project Finance and Project Development in the United States
IFLR1000 Women Leaders 2022

Leading Practitioner: Project Finance
Leading Practitioner: Women in Business Law Euromoney
Legal Media Group Expert Guides 2022, 2023

Global Leader: Project Finance
Who's Who Legal 2022, 2023

Global Leader: Government Contracts
Who's Who Legal 2022, 2023

Roll Call of Elite: Project Finance
Euromoney Best of the Best USA Expert Guide 2021, 2022

Leading Woman in Business Law: Project Finance
Euromoney Best of the Best USA Expert Guide 2021, 2022