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Overview | Water and Sewer Financings | Airport and Port Financings | Road and Bridge Financings | Transit System Financing | Health Care Financings | Other Financings
Overview
Vinson & Elkins is one of the world’s leading firms in public infrastructure finance, with nearly 800 lawyers worldwide and decades of experience in advising regional and local governments and public authorities in capital markets matters. Our clients include the governments of sovereign nations, states, cities and municipalities, as well as public and private companies in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
We are regularly ranked among the top firms in the United States and the world in independent surveys. - V&E; ranked 4th nationwide among Bond Counsel in U.S. Long-term Municipal New Issues for the first quarter of 2005, according to Thomson Financial, having participated in 47 issues raising proceeds of $3.507 million and 5th among Bond Counsel in U.S. Long-term Municipal New Issues - Negotiated Offerings, with $3.299 million in proceeds.
- The American Lawyer's April 2005 Corporate Scorecard ranks Vinson & Elkins Vinson & Elkins' Public Finance practice ranks in the top fifteen firms nationwide in Municipal Bond issues. As Underwriter's Counsel in issues raising proceeds of $2.685 billion, V&E; ranks twelfth. As Bond Counsel in municipal bond issues raising proceeds of $3.984 billion, V&E; ranks fifteenth.
- Infrastructure Journal recently selected Vinson & Elkins as the Law Firm of the Year in the water sector, based upon our global service to that sector in 2002. Moreover, Infrastructure Journal’s 2003 Half-Year League Tables ranked Vinson & Elkins first in North America and third in Latin America by total number of closed deals. V&E; also ranked in the top three firms in the following sectors:
- Water by both Value and Number of Closed and Ongoing Deals
- Transport by Number of Closed Deals
- Education by both Value and Number of Closed and Ongoing Deals
- Health Care by both Value and Number of Closed and Ongoing Deals
- The Bond Buyer, a daily newspaper that serves the municipal bond industry, ranked Vinson & Elkins 10th nationally on its list of “Top Bond Counsel” for the first nine months of 2003. V&E; served as bond counsel on 158 long -term issues totaling approximately $6 billion.
- In January 2003, The Bond Buyer ranked Vinson & Elkins 11th as municipal underwriter’s counsel and 12th as municipal bond counsel for the period of January 1, 2002 -December 31, 2002, based upon the dollar volume of long-term bond issues handled by the firm.
Water and Sewer Financings
Our water and sewer finance practice includes all aspects of water supply for municipal,industrial, irrigation and other users, including regulation of and rights to use surface and groundwaters, interstate and interbasin transfers, development of dams, reservoirs, pump stations, wells, pipelines, treatment plants, storage facilities, distribution systems, and other water supply facilities, and related contracting, financing, and rate regulation of wholesale and retail water supply service. Our depth and scope of expertise explains why Vinson & Elkins has been one of the world’s premier firms in the field of water law and finance for over fifty years.
Representative Engagements - Represent Mesa Water, Inc. in connection with a public/private partnership with the Brazos River Authority that proposes to supply over 200,000 acre -feet of water to major Texas cities, including San Antonio and Dallas/Fort Worth.
- Represented an international company in connection with its investment in the concessionaire for the Cancun/Isla Mujeres water, sewage, and wastewater treatment services and in a company providing services relating to the supply of water in Mexico City.
- Served as underwriter’s counsel on a $2.25 billion limited recourse financing of water, sewer, and related facilities in Houston, Texas.
- Currently advising the multi -lateral lenders on a $95 million project financing of the water and wastewater concession for the City of Bucharest, Romania.
Airport and Port Financings
Our lawyers have participated in airport and port financings around the United States and the world. Our public finance lawyers pioneered the creation of major commercial aviation facilities in Texas, and we have represented both the Port of Houston, the world’s sixth largest port, and the Port of Galveston.
Representative Engagements - Designed the legal structure for the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (“DFW”) joint venture between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and developed the operating agreements with the airlines that permitted the financing of the DFW Airport without the support of governmental funds. We have continued to serve as finance counsel to the DFW Airport for over 30 years.
- Bond counsel to the Houston Airport System for over 40 y ears. We helped devise the system’s original revenue bond financing structure in the 1960's and the revised, current financing structure in 1984. As bond counsel, we have participated in the issuance of over $3 billion dollars of financing secured by the general revenues of the Houston Airport System.
- Represent the City of Austin in all financial matters relating to Austin’s Bergstrom International Airport.
- Secured adoption of federal legislation providing assistance to U.S. airports to avoid debt defaults following 9/11.
Road and Bridge Financings
We have served as legal advisors to highway, toll road, and bridge financings throughout the United States and around the world. Our lawyers procured the enactment of enabling legislation for the Harris County Toll Road Authority and structured its initial financials for engineering and right-of-way acquisition. Vinson & Elkins also has extensive experience in such projects in Europe and Asia.
Representative Engagements - Represented the Harris County, Texas Toll Road Authority in financing the 27 mile Sam Houston Tollroad and the 21 -mile Hardy Tollroad from approximately $1.1 billion of revenue bonds.
- Advised the British government in relation to the development and financing of the A55 toll road project in Anglesey on a public-private partnership basis.
- Represented the underwriters in connection with the issuance of approximately the in $3.2 billion tax-exempt bonds issued by Texas Turnpike Authority.
- Participated in drafting a constitutional amendment and related legislation in Texas to authorize the State of Texas to create and fund the “Texas Mobility Fund” as a revolving state fund to finance and issue bonds for the construction of highways and toll roads in Texas.
- Recently selected by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority to serve as bond counsel on financings for eight new toll road projects.
Transit System Financing
Vinson & Elkins has served as legal advisor to subway, bus, commuter rail, and other transit projects around the world. A substantial amount of our work in this area currently involves assisting our clients in leveraged lease transactions involving rolling stock and other capital assets.
Representative Engagements - Advised Dallas Area Rapid Transit (“DART”) in its creation of a financing program that allowed it to borrow $3 billion in new money under a master indenture utilizing commercial paper, notes and long -term bonds.
- Represented DART in leveraged lease -leaseback transactions and sale -leaseback transactions with an aggregate value of approximately $400 million involving light rail vehicles, commuter rail diesel cars, real estate assets, and a portion of its bus fleet.
- Represented the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, in the simultaneous sale-leaseback of seven bus maintenance facilities worth a total of $230 million.
- Served as bond counsel to DART in the issuance of $150 million in notes to fund the North Central Light Rail Project.
Health Care Financings
Our health care practice is among the largest in the United States. We currently are legal advisors to a wide variety of health care entities, including hospital systems, major academic and university medical centers, governmental and community hospitals, and managed care provider networks. Over the past decade, we have participated in hundreds of health care facilities financings throughout North America.
Representative Engagements - Bond counsel to the Harris County, Texas Health Facilities Development Corporation in the issuance of $1.125 billion in variable rate revenue bonds in 2002.
- Bond counsel on the issuance of $187 million in revenue bonds in 2002 to finance the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.
- Assist the Washington Health Care Facilities Authority in revising its disclosure and governance policies to reflect changes in U.S. corporate governance laws.
- Represent as counsel or special counsel all of the hospital institutions in Houston’s Texas Medical Center, the University of Michigan Hospitals, and Vanderbilt University Hospital and Clinic.
Other Financings
General Obligation Bond Financings
We currently represent or have represented numerous government entities of all sizes in borrowings backed by their general tax revenues. Current and past clients include the State of Texas, the cities of Houston, Dallas, Austin, and Galveston, and Harris, Travis, and Dallas Counties. Our role as counsel to a state or city government often includes assistance at every stage of the planned transaction, and may involve developing enabling legislation for new bond issuance authority, planning for borrowing needs, assisting in obtaining approval of planned borrowings, facilitating the issuance of debt, and working with the government to optimize their debt portfolio. We recently represented the State of Texas as bond counsel in the issuance of $7.4 billion of tax and revenue anticipation notes.
Financings for Cultural, Sports, and Educational Facilities
We have been involved in the development of projects including opera houses (such as Houston’s Wortham Theatre in a Bond Buyer “Deal of the Year”), museums and visitor centers (including Space Center Houston at NASA’s Johnson Space Center), sports facilities (including Dallas’ Texas Stadium, Reunion Arena, Houston’s Summit and Astrodome, the Miami Arena, the Ballpark in Arlington, and the Texas Motor Speedway), and convention centers.
Our lawyers also have a long history of representing institutions of higher education, including The University of Texas, Rice University, and Southern Methodist University. Infrastructure Journal’s 2003 Half-Year League Tables ranked Vinson & Elkins as the top firm in the Education sector by number and value of closed deals.
Affordable Housing Financings
We represent state and local agencies, including the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the Texas Veterans Land Board, and the Houston and Harris County Housing Finance Corporations, and private developers of affordable housing in bond financings. With our assistance, these clients have implemented innovative mortgage finance programs intended to promote housing opportunities for low -income families. To date, Vinson & Elkins has assisted the Texas Housing Agency and its successor the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in the issuance of bonds and collateralized mortgage obligations amounting to approximately $5 billion to finance single family and multifamily housing loans.
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Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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