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Kemal Hawa, Co-Chair of the Digital Infrastructure, Data Center and Cloud Computing Industry Group, represents many of the world’s largest private equity firms, infrastructure funds, real estate investors, and lenders across a broad range of transactions in the digital infrastructure sector domestically and internationally, including mergers and acquisitions, investments, financing arrangements, joint ventures, and development projects.

Kemal also represents dozens of companies throughout the digital infrastructure and telecommunications, media and technology industry, including many of the world’s largest data center operators, telecommunications carriers, tower companies, Cloud providers, fiber providers, media companies, submarine cable operators, fintech companies, wireless and international carriers, Internet service providers, satellite companies, equipment manufacturers, and electric utilities.

In addition to M&A and financing transactions, Kemal represents companies in connection with the full spectrum of digital infrastructure transactions globally, including the negotiation of data center leases and colocation agreements, telecommunications master service agreements, licensing deals, and other commercial transactions.

Kemal is a frequent author and speaker on digital infrastructure topics, and has consistently been recognized as an industry leading attorney in the sector. In 2023 alone, Kemal was named as one of Capacity Media’s “Power 100” – a list of the 100 most influential people in the digital infrastructure sector globally, and was voted “TMT M&A Lawyer of the Year” by an independent panel of judges organized by TMT Finance.

Before private practice, Kemal worked for MCI and WinStar Communications.

Concentrations

  • Cloud transactions
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Telecommunications
  • Private equity law
  • Leveraged buyouts
  • Regulatory law
  • Foreign and cross ownership
  • Securities

Capabilities

Experience

  • Represented PWCC Marketplace, LLC, PWCC Services, LLC and PWCC Vault, LLC in connection with their senior secured credit facilities in an amount up to $175 million from WhiteHawk Capital Partners, LP and Wingspire Capital LLC.
  • Representation of an affiliate of The Carlyle Group in connection with an investment of up to $1 billion in Tillman Infrastructure, a leading privately held cell tower platform in the United States.
  • Representation of an affiliate of The Carlyle Group in connection with the acquisition of Involta, LLC, a leading regional U.S. data center and hybrid infrastructure company.
  • Representation of a hyperscale content provider in connection with its global network procurement rollout, including construction and procurement of submarine cable systems, terrestrial fiber optic network infrastructure, and data center capacity.
  • Representation of a global fintech company and multiple data center operators in connection with dozens of mergers and acquisitions involving data centers.
  • Representation of private equity infrastructure funds in connection with leveraged buyouts of data center and tower companies.
  • Representation of data center operators and enterprise customers in connection with numerous sale/leaseback transactions.
  • Outside counsel to more than 25 data center operators in connection with data center leases, colocation agreements, and network procurement transactions.

Recognition & Leadership

  • Selected, TMT Finance M&A Awards USA, “TMT Lawyer of the Year,” 2023
  • Selected, Capacity Media, “Power 100,” 2023
  • Team Member, a Law360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2023
  • Team Member, Corporate Board Member magazine and FTI Consulting Inc., one of “America’s Best Corporate Law Firms,” 13th Annual Legal Industry Study, 2013

Credentials

Education
  • J.D., American University Washington College of Law, 1996
    • Member, American University Law Review
  • B.A., Georgetown University, 1992
Admissions
  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland
  • New York
  • Virginia