ATLANTA – Dec. 22, 2023 – Attorneys from Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Atlanta-based Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice served as co-disclosure counsel for the City of Atlanta’s $410 million general obligation bond financing, which was recognized as The Bond Buyer’s 2023 Deal of the Year, Southeast Region.
The purpose of the bond offering was to fund of a portion of the city’s innovative Moving Atlanta Forward infrastructure package, which was approved by voters in 2022 and includes more than 100 infrastructure projects. A portion of this financing – $369 million – marks the city’s first issuance of “social bonds” to fund projects such as improving transportation, public safety, parks, and expanding art programs that can deliver substantial benefits to residents in neighborhoods across the city.
“This is a significant bond offering by the City of Atlanta because it follows through on an initiative voters approved last year to improve the city’s infrastructure across its many neighborhoods. It also demonstrates our firm’s ongoing commitment to make the city of Atlanta a more sustainable place to live and work,” said Greenberg Traurig Co-President Ernest LaMont Greer and Atlanta office Managing Shareholder Theodore I. Blum. “This deal provides an innovative financing structure with a purpose, which can serve as an example for funding infrastructure projects nationwide.”
Now in its 22nd year, The Bond Buyer Deal of the Year award recognizes “outstanding achievement in municipal finance,” according to its website. The publication’s editorial board determines recipients based on the deal’s creativity, public purpose, and ability to serve as a model for other financings.
The Greenberg Traurig team was led by Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice Shareholders Melissa López Rogers, based in Atlanta and Orlando, and Jéan E. Wilson, based in Orlando, and included Associate Zachary W. Branson. Attorneys from Riddle & Schwartz, LLC of Atlanta also served as co-disclosure counsel for the city in this transaction.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has a national public finance practice that consistently ranks among the top bond, disclosure, and underwriter’s counsel firms according to The Bond Buyer’s nationwide and state-wide rankings. Greenberg Traurig LLP’s Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice has been serving the needs of state and local issuers, underwriters, credit providers, bondholders, and conduit borrowers throughout the United States for more than forty years in virtually every area of public finance. The firm currently has 40 attorneys in the Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice in its Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, D.C. offices.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP – Atlanta: Greenberg Traurig's Atlanta office offers clients the local capabilities and wide-ranging experience of more than 100 attorneys, supported by the resources and reach of the firm's global platform. The firm's collaborative culture is reflected by attorneys who serve their clients with a combination of legal and business skills that are vital in today's competitive, global environment. Greenberg Traurig's Atlanta team brings a practical approach to the representation of our clients.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 47 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2022 BTI “Highly Recommended Law Firm” for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 500. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 6.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.