Jason P. Wagenmaker

Partner

Areas of Focus

Jason P. Wagenmaker

Partner

jwagenmaker@akingump.com

Areas of Focus

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Biography
  • Advises investors in transactions across the infrastructure sector, including rail, ports and other transportation, digital infrastructure, energy and steel and manufacturing.
  • Also represents private equity and pension investors and public and private companies on complex corporate transactions in the chemicals and agribusiness, real estate, financial services and technology sectors.

Jason focuses on infrastructure M&A and other corporate transactions. 

He represents infrastructure, private equity, pension and other investors and strategics in a wide range of infrastructure investments, joint ventures and other transactions. He has extensive experience with rail, ports and other transportation transactions. 

Jason also works across digital infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, chemicals and agribusiness, real estate, financial services and technology. 

Prior to joining Akin, Jason was the head of infrastructure M&A at another leading global law firm.

Representative Work

Infrastructure

  • Represented Alberta Investment Management Corporation in its acquisition of Cando Rail & Terminals Ltd., one of North America’s largest owners and operators of first and last mile rail infrastructure, from private equity firm TorQuest Partners Inc.
  • Represented Igneo Infrastructure Partners in the acquisition of 100% of the equity of Patriot Rail and Ports, which operates a portfolio of 12 short-line freight railroads with more than 585 track miles across 14 states in the United States, and in related co-investment transactions.
  • Represented iCON Infrastructure LLP in the $950 million acquisition of Canadian and U.S. ports owned by QSL International Ltd.
  • Represented RailUSA in the acquisition of Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, a 430-mile rail line, and related real estate from CSX Corporation.

Energy

  • Advised Igneo Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition of 40% of the equity interests in Terra-Gen, a leading renewable energy developer that operates over 1.3 GW of wind, solar, battery storage and geothermal facilities across the United States, and specializes in development, construction, and operation of utility-scale wind, solar, energy storage and geothermal generation facilities, from private equity firm Energy Capital Partners LLC, and represented FSI in related co-investment transactions in the Terra-Gen Power platform.
  • Advised Igneo Infrastructure Partners in the acquisition of a majority equity interest in Soltage LLC, a renewable power producer operating in 18 U.S. states.
  • Advised Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, as part of a consortium, in the $750 million sale of APR Energy Limited to Atlas Corp., a newly formed holding company of Seaspan Corporation.
  • Advised Studsvik in the sale of its nuclear waste operations in Erwin and Memphis, Tennessee, its 51% stake in Semprasafe LLC and parts of its THOR patents, to EnergySolutions Inc.
  • Advised TransCanada Corporation in its $395 million sale of North Baja Pipeline LLC, an 80-mile natural gas pipeline that extends from Southwestern Arizona to the California/Mexico border, to TC PipeLines LP.

Digital Infrastructure

  • Represented Igneo Infrastructure Partners in the acquisition of US Signal Company LLC, an industry-leading provider of data center technologies, cloud solutions and managed services.

Steel & Manufacturing

  • Represented ArcelorMittal in its $2.2 billion acquisition of steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém, furthering ArcelorMittal's strategy to produce low CO2 steel products.
  • Represented Elkay Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of stainless steel sinks, in its $1.56 billion sale to Zurn Water Solutions Corporation.
  • Represented a worldwide steel company in its agreement with Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation to form a joint venture at the closing of their $1.55 billion acquisition of a state-of-the-art steel processing plant located in Calvert, Alabama, from ThyssenKrupp AG, and in subsequent agreements to construct and operate a new electric arc furnace in Calvert, Alabama.
  • Represented a worldwide steel company in the divestiture of its LaPlace and Vinton Long Carbon facilities in the U.S. to an affiliate of Black Diamond Capital Management LLC. The LaPlace, Louisiana, facility, along with a rolling mill in Harriman, Tennessee, produces billets, angles, flats, channels and beams. The Vinton facility, located in El Paso, Texas, produces rebar and grinding media.
  • Represented Cargill in the $720 million sale of its 50% stake in U.S.-based North Star BlueScope Steel LLC, to BlueScope Steel Limited, an Australia-based manufacturer and distributor of steel building products.
  • Represented two worldwide steel and mining companies in the sale of their respective 50% interests in Gallatin Steel Company, a manufacturer of hot rolled steel coils, to Nucor Corporation for $770 million.
  • Represented Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) in its acquisition of a 33.4% stake in Android Industries LLC, a Detroit-based automobile parts/assembly company with operations in Brazil, Mexico, Spain and the United States, from Wynnchurch Capital Partners LP.
  • Represented Caterpillar in the sale of the mining equipment distribution and support business operated by its subsidiary, Bucyrus International, to Caterpillar dealers in Mongolia, Russia, Malaysia, Australia and South Africa.
  • Represented Dukane Corporation in the sale of its Seacom division, which designs and manufactures underwater locator beacons used to locate aircraft cockpit voice recorders, flight data recorders and marine ship voyage recorders, to HEICO Corporation's Electronic Technologies Group.
  • Represented ArcelorMittal in its $810 million divestment of its Sparrows Point, Maryland facility, a fully integrated steel mill with a short line railroad and deep-water port, to OAO Severstal.

Chemicals & Agribusiness

  • Advised tesa tape in the acquisition of Functional Coatings LLC, a manufacturer and distributor of elastomeric hot melt adhesives and coatings, and its wholly-owned subsidiary Heromelt Adhesives LLC.
  • Advised Dow Chemical in its $1.2 billion sale of ANGUS Chemical Company, a manufacturer of nitroalkane-based chemicals, to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. Our association firm, Tauil & Chequer Advogados, advised on the Brazilian law aspects of the transaction.
  • Advised Dow Chemical in the sale of its global Specialty Films business, which provides film solutions used in medical, packaging and industrial markets, to Transilwrap Company Inc.
  • Advised Dow Chemical in the $184 million sale of its global sodium borohydride business to Vertellus Specialites Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of specialty chemical products. Our association firm, Tauil & Chequer Advogados, advised on the Brazilian law aspects of the transaction.
  • Advised Mitsui & Co. Ltd. in its acquisition of interests in Multigrain AG, a three-party joint venture engaged in agricultural production and grain distribution in Brazil.
  • Advised Nalco Company in the $166 million sale of its Performance Products Group, a supplier of value-added specialty polymers and formulation additives marketed to the global personal care and household care industries, to The Lubrizol Corporation.
  • Advised Nalco Company in the sale of its NAFLEET marine chemicals unit, which produces and distributes marine water treatment chemicals, to Norway-based Wilhelmsen Ships Service AS.
  • Advised Nalco Company in the acquisition by its subsidiary Res-Kem General Water LLC of the assets of Christ Water Technology Americas LLC, a designer, manufacturer and servicer of water treatment systems.
  • Advised Nalco Company in the acquisition of the assets and real property of Rubis Land Co. LLC, and Fabrication Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of upstream oil and gas surface equipment including water injection plants, water disposal plants and coal bed methane (CBM) water treatment and processing plants.
  • Advised Nalco Company in its acquisition of Res-Kem Corporation and General Water Services Corporation, leading suppliers of water treatment services and equipment in the Northeastern region of the United States.
  • Advised Nalco Company in the $75 million sale of its Finishing Technologies surface treatment business to Rockwood Holdings Inc., the US-based chemical manufacturing company.

Fintech & Financial Institutions M&A

  • Represented Macquarie Group in its sale of Advantage Funding Management Co. Inc., a leading provider of commercial vehicle and transportation financing services, to Sterling National Bank.
  • Represented Wells Fargo in the sale of its commercial insurance brokerage business to USI Insurance Services LLC. Consisting of Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA Inc., Safehold Special Risk Inc. and Preferred Motor Sports Risk Purchasing Group LLC, the commercial insurance brokerage business provides and consulting services to commercial customers in connection with property and casualty insurance policies and employee benefits policies, risk management and specialty lines of insurance coverage to high net worth individuals, health insurance coverages for college and university student enrollments and specialty wholesale health insurance coverages.
  • Represented Macquarie Group in the sale of U.S.-based Macquarie Equipment Finance LLC, a provider of lease financing, asset management solutions, and remarketing of technology, health care, and capital equipment, to Huntington Bancshares Inc.

Technology & Life Sciences

  • Represented CDK through its subsidiaries CDK Vehicle Registration Inc. and CDK Vehicle Registrations LLC in their purchase of the remaining 20% partnership interest in Computerized Vehicle Registration Inc., a provider to automotive dealers and other key members of the vehicle lifecycle with fast, secure, certified electronic vehicle registration.
  • Represented CDK Global II LLC (f/k/a CDK Global Inc.) in the sale of CDK Global Heavy Equipment, its dealer management systems software provider for the heavy equipment business, to e-EmphasysTechnologies Inc.
  • Represented CDK Global Inc., a leading provider of dealer management systems and integrated information technology solutions to the automotive retailing and adjacent industries, in the $1.45 billion sale of its CDK international segment to private equity firm Francisco Partners Management LP.
  • Represented U.K.-based Celsis International, a leader in rapid microbial detection systems for leading pharmaceutical and consumer products companies, in its $212 million acquisition by Charles River Laboratories International Inc.

Real Estate

  • Represented Unico Properties in the acquisition and related tax structuring of a real estate investment trust that owned property in the Seattle, Washington metropolitan area.
  • Represented Prologis in its $5.9 billion acquisition of the real estate assets and operating platform of KTR Capital Partners and its affiliates. The real estate assets will be acquired by Prologis U.S. Logistics Venture, a 55-45 consolidated joint venture with Norges Bank Investment Management, manager of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global.
  • Represented Trilogy Holdings in the $1.5 billion sale of Trilogy Investors LLC, which owns and operates integrated senior health care campuses in the Midwest, to Trilogy Real Estate Investment Trust, a joint venture between Griffin-American Healthcare REIT III Inc. and NorthStar Healthcare Income Inc.
  • Represented CB Richard Ellis Investors, a leading global real estate investment management firm, in its acquisition of a majority interest in Atlanta-based Wood Partners LLC, a multifamily real estate developer, on behalf of one of CBRE Investors' institutionally sponsored funds.

List may include matters worked on prior to joining Akin.

Education
  • J.D., Indiana University School of Law, summa cum laude, 2006

  • B.A., Rhodes College, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 2003

Bar Admissions
  • Illinois

Recognitions
  • BTI Consulting, Client Service All-Star, 2016.
  • Leading Lawyers, Emerging Lawyer in M&A, 2016.

Insights and Achievements

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