The Bond Buyer has announced the recipients of its annual Deal of the Year Awards, honoring outstanding achievement in municipal finance across 10 regional and supplemental categories. Squire Patton Boggs advised on three winning transactions recognized in the Midwest Region, Green Financing and Public-Private Partnership Financing categories.
In the “Midwest Region” category, the firm served as bond and disclosure counsel to the Columbus Regional Airport for its approximately $1.21 billion issuance of AMT and non-AMT airport revenue bonds as its inaugural issuance to support a $2 billion capital program at John Glenn Columbus International. The transaction generated $4.11 billion in orders from 88 investors, expanding demand for AMT paper and allowing the Authority to advance $175 million of additional projects.
The Squire Patton Boggs team was led by public and infrastructure finance partner Christopher J. Franzmann.
In the “Green Financing” category, the firm served as co-bond counsel to the New York Transportation Development Corporation for its $1.95 billion green bond issuance for the JFK International Airport Terminal 6 Redevelopment. The financing advances a high-efficiency terminal program featuring rooftop solar, fully electric ground support, and stormwater capture and reuse. The transaction drew strong multi-segment investor demand that allowed the offering to be sizably upsized.
The Squire Patton Boggs team was led by global head of transportation infrastructure finance and public and infrastructure finance partner Alethia N. Nancoo and public and infrastructure finance practice group leader and partner Catherine Z. Romanchek.
In the “Public-Private Partnership Financing” category, the firm represented a consortium comprised of ACS Infrastructure, Acciona, and Meridiam for the Georgia SR 400 Express Lanes Project, which combined a record issuance of tax-exempt AMT bonds, the largest TIFIA loan to date, and a 50-year concession that delivered a $3.8 billion upfront concession fee to the State of Georgia while funding 16 miles of dynamically tolled lanes and future bus rapid transit improvements. The multibillion-dollar transportation project aims to improve safety, reduce congestion, and support multimodal mobility across metro Atlanta.
The Squire Patton Boggs team was led by public and infrastructure finance counsel Gregory V. Johnson, Denver managing partner and environmental, safety and health global chair Peter S. Gould, and public policy partner Austin Harrison.
“With a century-long tradition at the forefront of public finance, Squire Patton Boggs has uniquely positioned itself as a market leader, providing trusted bond counsel opinions,” said Ms. Romanchek. “Our diverse and innovative engagements showcase the strength of our Public & Infrastructure Finance team’s deep bench of talent and expertise, as well as the breadth of our national practice spanning more than a dozen offices. We are proud to contribute to projects that are shaping the municipal finance market and driving growth in the American economy.”
The 2025 Deal of the Year Awards will be held on December 2 at Guastavino’s in New York City. All award winners are also finalists for the national Deal of the Year award, which will be announced at the close of the gala. Click here to view The Bond Buyer’s full list of honorees (subscription required).