Jonathan Melmed is Co-Chair of the firm’s Global Corporate Department, Co-Chair, Global Private Equity & M&A, and Chair, Global Infrastructure with over 25 years of experience advising private equity funds, pension plans, sovereigns, family offices, corporate clients, and investment banks on U.S. and cross-border M&A, private equity, and complex corporate transactions. Jonathan has deep sector experience spanning power and infrastructure, financial services, media, telecommunications and fiber, technology, life sciences, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, real estate/REITs, and energy.
Jonathan also leads the Canada practice and co-leads the Energy Transition practice. He is widely regarded as having one of the most active PE/M&A infrastructure practices in the world, including renewable energy/clean tech, digital infrastructure practices and infrastructure services. Jonathan also serves on the firm’s policy/management committee.
Jonathan has been consistently recognized by Chambers USA, Chambers Global, and Legal 500 for over a decade, including as a leading M&A and private equity lawyer and, most recently, as a Hall of Fame Private Equity lawyer (2026) and a leading U.S. Power & Renewables lawyer. In 2026, he was highly ranked by Chambers USA and by Chambers Global.
Jonathan’s representative fund clients have included, among others, Aranda Principal Strategies, Argo Infrastructure, Arevon Asset Management, Axium Infrastructure, Blackstone Infrastructure, BMO Capital, Brevan Howard, Brookfield Energy Partners, Brookfield Renewable Energy, Caithness Private Equity, Capital Dynamics, Chatham Asset Management, Citi Alternative Investments, Confluence Infrastructure Capital, Crestline Private Equity, D.E. Shaw, Davidson Kempner, DESRI, DRI Capital, DW Partners, EJF Capital, Elliott Associates, EnerTech Capital Partners, Fiera Comox Partners, First Reserve, Greensoil Investments, Greystar Infrastructure, Guggenheim Capital, iCON Infrastructure, IFM Investors, Instar Asset Management, I Squared Capital, King Street, La Caisse, Macquarie Capital, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, Morgan Stanley Private Equity, Mubadala, Novus Capital, Oaktree, OMERS Private Equity, OneIM Investments, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Palisade Infrastructure, PSP Investments, Ridgewood Infrastructure, Safanad Capital Partners, Strategic Value Partners, Summa Equity, The Alaska Permanent Fund, TOMS Capital, and UBS Infrastructure & Private Equity.
Representative Live and Broad-Based Sector M&A/PE Matters (see the “Matters” section below for other representative matters listed by sector)
Representing Lotus Infrastructure Partners in connection with its pending $1.9 billion sale of a natural gas portfolio to Vistra Energy. See Press Release below. (2025)
Represented Macquarie Asset Management re its acquisition of a significant minority equity stake in D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), a large renewable energy company, for up to approximately $1.725 billion. (2025)
Represented Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets/Macquarie Asset Management re its pending acquisition of the controlling interests in Galehead Development, LLC, a leading Massachusetts-based renewable energy development platform. (2025)
Represented Abu Dhabi National Oil Company re its acquisition of 35% interest in Baytown Hydrogen and Ammonia Company from ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions Hydrogen Global. (2024)
Represented White Energy Holding Company, an ethanol producer and affiliate of a hybrid hedge/private equity fund, in connection with its merger with Gate City Renewables Fuel. (2024)
Representing Waste Management re a joint venture with a solar battery storage developer in the U.S.
Representing a London-based Private Equity Fund re its pending acquisition of a substantial minority interest in a leading U.S. hybrid hedge/private equity fund.
Represented Capital Dynamics re a sell side M&A transaction in the wind sector in the U.S. (2024)
Represented Emirates Global Aluminum re its pending acquisition of a majority equity stake in Spectro Alloys, a leading recycling aluminum alloy producer in the U.S. (2024)
Represented Mubadala, a UAE sovereign wealth fund, re its potential acquisition of a substantial private equity interest in Brightspeed, a broadband company in the U.S. for approximately $7.5 billion alongside Apollo. (2024)
Represented Ridgewood Infrastructure re its pending preferred equity investment in MN8 Energy, one of the largest renewable energy companies in the U.S. (2024)
Represented Lotus Infrastructure in the sale of its membership interests in the 1.3 GW Compass Power Portfolio to Electrify Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO). (2024)
Represented Axium Infrastructure re its acquisition of Edwards Sanborn 1A and Edwards Sanborn 1B, a 1 GW+ battery storage project under development from TerraGen located in California. (2024).
Represented Arcelar Mittal re its sale of one of the largest companies in the steel sector in Kazakhstan to the Republic of Kazakhstan for over $1 billion. (2023)
Represented Hotwire Communications, a leading provider of fiber-to-the-home in the United States, in connection with a large private equity investment by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Blackstone Infrastructure Partners.
Represented Lightning Systems, Inc., an electric truck manufacturer, re its merger with GigCapital3, Inc., a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC).
Represented OMERS Private Equity re its original acquisition and subsequent sale (many years later) of Marketwired, a press release distribution company, to NASDAQ.
Represented Harbinger Capital Partners LLC re its acquisition of Old Mutual U.S. Life Holdings, Inc., a life insurance business, for approximately $350 million.
Represented Instar Asset Management in the business combination of Oilfield Water Logistics (“OWL”), Instar’s portfolio company that develops and operates wells, conveyance lines and related facilities in the southwestern United States for the disposal of water incident to the production of oil and gas, and Pilot Water Solutions (“Pilot”), a long-term, full-service water midstream company with expertise in produced water gathering, sourcing, recycling and disposing.
Represented Macquarie Capital (USA) re its sale of Savion to Shell, consisting of a development pipeline of 18GW of solar and energy storage projects. The largest renewables development M&A deal to date.
Represented Brazil-based Vale re a tender offer bid for all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of NYSE-listed Alcan Inc. The winning bid was for $38 billion.
Represented OMERS Private Equity in its acquisition of Give & Go Prepared Foods.
Represented Axium Infrastructure re its acquisition of 100% of Upper Peninsula Holding Company from Basalt Infrastructure Partners.
Represented Starwood Energy Group Global, a leading private equity fund focused on energy infrastructure, re its $1.23 billion acquisition of 100% of the equity interests in the operating subsidiaries of two of Dominion Energy’s combined-cycle gas turbine plants.
Represented Southern Cross Private Equity in its acquisition of MorePharma, a Mexico based pharmaceutical distribution company.
Represented Axium Infrastructure re its acquisition of BlueWave, a leading Boston-based solar and energy storage developer.
Represented BlackRock (f.k.a. First Reserve), a Greenwich, CT-based private equity fund, in connection with the leveraged buyout from Apex Clean Energy and multiple financings of a 298 megawatt wind farm under development in Oklahoma. This transaction marked the first U.S. renewables acquisition by First Reserve and was named the Financial Deal of the Year at the 2015 Platts Global Energy Awards.
Represented Axium Infrastructure re its acquisition of a 49% equity interest in Constellation Renewables Partners, a 1,415 MW diversified portfolio of twenty-four wind and four solar assets, from Manulife Investment Management, acting on behalf of John Hancock Infrastructure Fund and its affiliates.
Represented the special committee of Bed Bath & Beyond in its acquisition of buybuy Baby.
Represented Brookfield Renewable Energy in its acquisition of a 292 MW hydroelectric power plant from Talen Energy for $860M.
Represented First Reserve re its sale of its energy/infrastructure portfolio to BlackRock.
Represented a co-lead investment bank as financial advisor to CNOOC Ltd., China’s largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas, re its $19.4 billion acquisition of Nexen Inc., an NYSE-listed upstream oil and gas company. This transaction was named “Global M&A Deal of the Year” by The American Lawyer.
Represented PSP in the 49% acquisition of the I-69 section 5 toll road located in Indiana.
Represented Capital Dynamics, a Swiss/NYC-based PE fund re its acquisition of an approximately 300MW portfolio of operating solar power plants located in California, Delaware and Arizona from LS Power.
Represented CIT Group on the sale of over 120 direct private equity interests to ProStar Equity Partners and over 100 LP interests to Goldman Private Equity.
