Milbank LLP advised Ullico Infrastructure Fund in a definitive agreement to acquire GEP Bison Holdings, Inc., which owns 100% of the equity of Hearthstone Utilities, Inc., a holding company that owns and operates six natural gas local distribution companies across five states in the United States. Ullico will acquire GEP Bison Holdings, Inc. from BlackRock Real Assets' Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Funds. The agreement was signed on December 22, 2020.
Hearthstone serves over 82,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers across Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, and Ohio.
The Milbank team was led by Global Corporate partners John Franchini and Aaron Stine and Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance partner Dan Michalchuk, along with Global Corporate associates Gabrielle DiBernardi and Christina Sonageri and Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance associates Leila Ravi, Steven Saracco, Eddie Hale and Chad Richards. The team also included Tax partner Max Goodman and associate Michael Rivkin, Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits partner Joel Krasnow, of counsel Jane Hanson and associates James Beebe and Jon Sorger, Litigation and Arbitration partner Tawfiq Rangwala, and associate Jeremy Butt, Environmental partner Matt Ahrens, Antitrust partner Fiona Schaeffer, regulatory advisor Jim Liles, and Intellectual Property special counsel Nathaniel Browand.
