Damian advises U.S. and international corporations, including Fortune 50 companies, financial institutions, private equity funds, and other investors in complex cross-border and international transactions involving energy, industrial/manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, water and wastewater, and natural resource projects. Damian is a member of Womble Bond Dickinson's Corporate and Securities, Private Equity, and Energy & Natural Resources Sector Teams and is the Head of the Water Subsector.
In his more than 25 years of experience, Damian has advised public, private, NGO and governmental clients on transactional – including debt, equity and hybrid investments, financings and structures, risk management, and compliance – and operational matters across a variety of industries. He has extensive M&A experience in buy-and-build and hyper-growth strategies, structures, financings, including project finance, and operations primarily focused on the water, wastewater, energy, technology and environmental industries. Damian has also successfully led numerous infrastructure transactions, including water and wastewater privatization, affirmage, and P3/PPP projects, in the U.S. and internationally.
Damian also counsels clients on various corporate and financial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, international corporate transactions, divestitures, restructurings, corporate structuring, corporate finance, project finance, public and private equity and debt offerings, and venture capital transactions. In addition, he manages a broad array of general corporate governance issues for his clients including representing and advising boards of directors and special committees. Over the course of his career, he has sourced, negotiated, structured, analyzed and completed several hundred transactions.
Damian’s previous roles have included managing partner of a permanent capital provider, a strategic partner for a multibillion-dollar private equity fund, a senior advisor to a private equity firm, and a corporate development executive and Chief Legal Officer of several high-profile/high-growth public companies.
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Completed the sale of a Fortune 300 global water and wastewater NYSE-listed global enterprise to a large French multinational conglomerate for $8.6 billion in enterprise value.
- Completed the acquisition of the largest NYSE-listed global residential water and point-of-use water company (Culligan) in a $2.2 billion enterprise value transaction.
- Divested an oil and gas development company, including related gathering lines, pipelines, processing and rail lines for a Fortune 50 global enterprise.
- Developed a series of joint ventures to manufacture plastic closures and bottles for a Fortune 50 global enterprise in more than 12 countries.
- Advised a private equity sponsor on a US $1.0 billion "go private" transaction of a publicly traded company that owns and develops desalination projects, industrial outsourced water projects and operates a commercial office water and related services business.
- Represented a large publicly traded Japanese holding company in the acquisition of a North American natural gas local distribution company (LDC) and the follow-on debt financing activities of the LDC.
- Completed a $750 million standby credit facility to support an investment grade commercial paper/debt program for a Fortune 50 company.
- Completed the first ever cross-border hostile takeover of a water and wastewater technology company listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Australian Stock Exchange.
- Led several buy-and-build strategies in a number of industries, including water and wastewater, unconventional oil and gas, energy, industrial distribution, real estate, oilfield services, and waste oil and refining.
- Completed a $900 million public bond issuance for a Fortune 300, NYSE-listed global water and wastewater company.
- Completed a $752 million syndicated credit facility for a Fortune 300, NYSE-listed global water and wastewater company.
- Completed a combined $840 million public convertible note and equity offering for a Fortune 300, NYSE-listed global water and wastewater company.
- Completed the formation and initial funding of a new private equity fund focusing on acquisition and financing of water and wastewater projects and investments.
- Developed and financed a merchant canola crush plant for a NASDAQ-listed deep value holding company.
- Represented GAST Clearwater in connection with a VC investment (Seed Series A) by Draper Associates.
- Represented Volato, Inc. in connection with an approximately US$50.0 million (Series A) VC investment by PROOF.vc and a conversion of promissory notes into Series A Preferred, and a subsequent business combination agreement with a SPAC which will result in Volato, Inc. becoming a publicly listed company.
- Represented a large publicly traded NYSE company in connection with its acquisition of Colorado River water rights and construction of a 300+ mile water pipeline and related energy, storage and distribution facilities including municipal and industrial sales of physical water.
- Represented a Fortune 500 NYSE-listed issuer in connection with a newly established US$1.6 billion commercial paper program and credit facility in the same amount.
- Completed more than 500 mergers, acquisitions, financings and divestitures throughout the world in energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, operations, technology, water and wastewater, and services.
- Advised numerous clients in North American and international privatization efforts in water, wastewater, and infrastructure operations.
- Advised a water-focused specialty finance company in its initial equity investments which will provide the client with equity capital to deploy approximately US $1.0 billion into water-focused investments, which includes equity and project finance initiatives. This equity investment was the second-largest water infrastructure financing deal in 2020.
- Advised on numerous industrial outsourcing transactions with respect to the water and wastewater operations, including recycle, recirculation and reuse.
- Advised IFC on a PPP project in Amman, Jordan to address non-revenue water issues including financing alternatives.
- Acted as consortium legal counsel to a leading water company concerning the structuring, financing, development of an integrated desalination plant(s) and related energy/power and pipeline needs including negotiation of offtaker agreements in MENA.
- Assisted in the development and financing, including technology and equipment procurement, in connection with the Carlsbad, CA, desalination project.
- Divested a global water and wastewater company for a Fortune 500 global mining, refining and smelting enterprise in a complex multi-staged transaction.
- Completed a $110 million PIPE for a NASDAQ-listed deep value holding company.
- Completed $100 million sale of a residential water service and technology company for a PE client.
- Completed a two-tranche, $400 million high yield bond offering for a NYSE-listed oilfield services company focused on water, wastewater and treatment technologies for hydraulic fracturing to support acquisitions.
- Completed a $90 million secondary bond offering for a NYSE-listed oilfield services company focused on water, wastewater and treatment technologies for hydraulic fracturing.
- Completed a $150 million (with a $75 million accordion feature) syndicated combined revolving and term credit facility for a public oilfield services company focused on the water aspects of hydraulic fracturing.
- Completed a $250 million (with a $100 million accordion feature) syndicated revolving credit facility for a public oilfield services company focused on the water aspects of hydraulic fracturing.
- Completed a $350 million (with a $100 million accordion feature) syndicated revolving credit facility for a public oilfield services company focused on the water aspects of hydraulic fracturing.
- Established a $400 million universal shelf registration statement for a deep value holding company.
- Established an $800 million universal shelf registration statement for a global Fortune 300 water and wastewater company.
- Completed a $450 million equity offering for a global Fortune 300 water and wastewater company.
- Completed a $120 million acquisition of polymeric manufacturing operations in the U.S., France and Brazil for a large global enterprise operating in U.S. bankruptcy.
- Completed the acquisition of 42,000 acres of real property and associated vested Colorado River water rights in California, together with the acquisition of 8,000 acres of real property and associated groundwater rights in Texas.
- Completed the acquisition of an Israeli water treatment technology company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE).
Professional & Civic Engagement
- Member Board of Advisors, Emory University School of Law, Center for Transactional Law and Practice
- American Energy Partners Inc. Board of Directors
- Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative’s Corporate Advisory Board
Thought Leadership
Speaking Engagements
- Moderator, “Successfully Building and Growing a Water Infrastructure Business,” Sciens Capital Rethinking Water Conference, September 20, 2022
- Panelist, "Infrastructure Investment: Making the Most of a Once In a Generation Investment Opportunity," Smith’s Municipal Bond Conference, Smith’s Research & Gradings, July 21-22, 2022
Publications
- “What Utilities Want to Know From Industrial Developers,” Wastewater Digest, June 6, 2023
- "Water Infrastructure Crisis Requires Private Investment," Law360, May 2023
Languages
- French
- Italian
