Overview
Kfir Abutbul is a partner in the Corporate department of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Houston office.
He has a diverse practice that focuses on advising financial and private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, and management teams. For these clients, Mr. Abutbul focuses his practice on assisting clients reach successful completion of key corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and spin-offs, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, and equity and preferred investments. His industry practice focus is on energy and power, renewables, chemicals, manufacturing, and related industrial services, but he has advised clients on transactions involving a variety of other industries.
Mr. Abutbul has been extensively involved in the firm’s impact investing initiatives and assisted clients in the execution of multiple impact investing transactions, bringing the energy and power industry’s experience with sustainable development for renewable energy to other industries. Going beyond traditional transaction structures, Mr. Abutbul has further extensive experience in distressed situations, where he has represented debtors and investors of both debt and equity on recapitalization, disposition, and restructuring transactions, in and out of bankruptcy court.
Mr. Abutbul’s practice has significant reach in global markets, and he has assisted clients in transactions involving global assets and locations beyond the United States, including the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, Asia, West Africa, Mexico, and his native Israel. He is a fluent speaker of English and Hebrew.
Education
- Columbia Law School, J.D., 2010
- University College London, LL.B., 2010
Representations
Energy & Power
- Represented an undisclosed financial sponsor in its equity commitments of over $500 million and debt commitments of over $100 million, in connection with the development and construction of multiple battery storage facilities in the United States.
- Represented OnyxPoint Global Management in connection with its investments in Sable Permian Resources.
- Represented White Oak Global Advisors in connection with the acquisition of multiple oilfield services businesses, including Felderhoff Brothers from Superior Energy, and the related restructuring and sale thereof to Scandrill, Inc., a transaction awarded Deal of the Year by ACG Houston in 2020.
- Represented PBF Energy, Inc. in connection with its sale of hydrogen plants to Air Products for a purchase price of $530 million.
- Represented Lotte Chemical in connection with a sale of stake in an ethylene production facility in Louisiana for a purchase price of $816.5 million.
- Represented Brookfield Business Partners in its $4.6 billion acquisition of Westinghouse Electric Company, a leading nuclear power service provider.
- Represented York Capital Management in connection with the acquisition of certain assets of Lockwood Holdings through a competitive bankruptcy auction.
- Represented Sithe Global Power, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, in its $1.2 billion sale of interests in two coal-fired power plants in the Philippines to Aboitiz Power Corp.
- Represented Fisterra Energy, a company owned by affiliates of The Blackstone Group, in connection with the $852 million sale of the Ventika wind generation facilities, the largest wind farm in Mexico and one of the largest in Latin America, to Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V., a unit of Sempra Energy.
- Represented Sithe Global Power, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, in connection with the sale of its interest in the Bujagali hydropower project in Uganda.
- Represented Bondholders of US Shale Solutions Inc. in connection with its recapitalization and restructuring.
- Represented a consortium of financial institutions in connection with a preferred equity investment in an oil field services company.
- Represented Samson Resource Corporation in connection with its chapter 11 restructuring and associated transactions.
- Represented a private equity fund in connection with the proposed acquisition of electricity generation facilities in New Mexico.
- Represented The Blackstone Group in connection with its acquisition of the Calvert lignite mine from affiliates of the Kiewit Corporation.
- Represented Warburg Pincus in its capital investment in Hawkwood Energy, a Denver-based independent upstream oil and gas company formed in 2012 with Warburg Pincus and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan as lead investors, in connection with Hawkwood Energy’s acquisition of assets owned by Halcon Resources in a transaction valued at approximately $500 million.
- Represented Warburg Pincus in its $500 million capital commitment to Trident Energy, a newly formed oil and gas exploration and production company focused on international assets.
- Represented The Blackstone Group in connection with its acquisition of the Twin Oaks power generation facility through a competitive bankruptcy auction.
- Represented Blackstone Energy Partners, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, in an undisclosed investment in GridLiance GP LLC, the first competitive transmission company focused on working with underserved municipal, cooperative, and joint action agency utilities to plan, develop, own, and operate transmission infrastructure.
Other Industries
- Represented a global investment and advisory firm in connection with multiple transactions involving complex debt and equity commitments.
- Represented a consortium of premier sponsors in connection with the recapitalization of Getronics.
- Represented Sixth Street Partners in multiple transactions involving complex debt and equity commitments.
- Represented AFI Partners in connection with the acquisition of Garsite and related transactions.
- Represented The Sterling Group in multiple transactions, including the sale of Safe Fleet to Oak Hill Capital Partners.
- Represented PSAV Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Olympus Partners, in connection with its acquisition of AVC Live Limited in the United Kingdom.
- Represented WL Ross Holding Corp., a special purpose acquisition vehicle managed by WL Ross & Co., in connection with the acquisition of a large chemical and plastics distributor, Nexeo Solutions, from TPG.
news
- Law360 Appoints Kfir Abutbul to Energy Editorial Advisory Board - April 15th, 2022
- Paul Hastings Advises on Formation of Sandbrook Capital to Invest in Entrepreneurs Building a Low-Carbon Future - November 3rd, 2021
- Oak Hill Advisors Teams with Bluesource for $500 Million Joint Venture on Carbon Offsets - October 14th, 2021
- Paul Hastings Launches Interdisciplinary Energy Transition & Infrastructure Team to Help Clients Prepare for Low-Carbon Future - June 9th, 2021
- Paul Hastings Represented PE Executives in Departure from Riverstone Holdings - March 24th, 2021
- PBF Energy Closes $530 Million Sale of Operating Hydrogen Plants - April 20th, 2020
- Lotte Chemical USA Sells Membership Interests in LACC to Eagle US for US$816.5 million - November 14th, 2019
- Private Equity Growth Continues at Paul Hastings with Hire of Transatlantic Team in London and Washington D.C. - July 17th, 2019
- Paul Hastings Global Derivatives Push Advances - May 2nd, 2019
- Private Equity Push, Silicon Valley Surge Continue for Paul Hastings with Addition of PE Partner, Co-Chair of Israel Practice - March 5th, 2019
- Paul Hastings Continues Corporate Growth Hot Streak, Adding Top Tech M&A Team in Silicon Valley - February 22nd, 2019
- Garsite and AFI Partners Acquire Aviation and Truck Equipment - February 15th, 2019
- Finance and Funds Expansion Continues at Paul Hastings with Partner Addition in Houston - November 5th, 2018