Carl J. Fleming advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, project finance and development, and public policy matters.

Practice & Background

 

Mr. Fleming has a decade of experience representing clients in major international transactions and policy matters, including transactions in more than 20 countries across Africa. He advises U.S., European and African companies, private equity funds and governments in connection with equity acquisitions and sales, project finance and infrastructure development transactions, renewable energy transactions, and public policy matters. His work has been noted by the Wall Street Journal,Washington Lawyer Magazine, Africa Insider and other trade publications.

Prior to joining Akin Gump, Mr. Fleming worked for the U.S. government at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). There he served as a senior international attorney, advisor to the White House’s senior advisor to MCC and diplomat. He has developed, negotiated and implemented international agreements with foreign states to open markets in such regions as sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East. He has counseled government ministries in the energy, infrastructure, agriculture and water supply and sanitation sectors. 

 

More specifically, as a senior international attorney, he counseled MCC country teams and foreign governments throughout Africa on the development, negotiation and implementation of large scale infrastructure programs. As advisor to the White House’s senior advisor to MCC, he advised the office of the CEO and its Board (including Secretary of State, USTR, USAID and Treasury) on MCC’s investments across its entire Africa country portfolio, exceeding an aggregate value of $10 billion in over 15 countries. As a diplomat, he cultivated positive relationships with foreign government officials, advising them on their most challenging policy, governance and commercial matters.

Before joining the U.S. government, Mr. Fleming spent several years in private practice in the New York offices of another large international law firm representing clients in international and domestic finance transactions involving project financings, leveraged acquisition financings, mezzanine financings, bridge financings and bond offerings.

 

Mr. Fleming is a member of a USAID Power Africa working group to assist with the drafting of model power purchase agreements for electric power utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa to be used as template documents in African power development transactions supported by the US government's Power Africa initiative. He is also a member of the Corporate Council on Africa and the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. 

Mr. Fleming attended the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was selected to be executive articles and notes editor for the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, senior writing fellow for the Georgetown University Law Center Legal Writing Center and member of the Georgetown University Law Center Federal Legislation Clinic.

 

Representative Matters

 

Government

During his tenure with the U.S. government, Mr. Fleming advised on the development, negotiation and/or implementation of:

·         a $506.9 million compact with the Republic of Mozambique

·         a $275.1 million compact with the Kingdom of Jordan

·         a $698.1 million compact with the Republic of Tanzania

·         a $697.5 million compact with the Kingdom of Morocco

·         a $66.6 million compact with the Republic of Cape Verde

·         a $547 million compact with the Republic of Ghana

·         a $354.8 million compact with the Republic of Zambia

·         a $304.5 million compact with the Republic of Namibia

·         a $540 million compact with the Republic of Senegal

·         a $460.8 million compact with the Republic of Mali

·         a $350.1 million compact with the Republic of Malawi

·         a $362.3 million compact with the Kingdom of Lesotho

·         a $307.3 million compact with the Republic of Benin

·         a $480.1 compact with the Burkina Faso

Corporate

Mr. Fleming’s corporate engagements include representing:

·         a leading pan-African private equity firm in connection with a $2.6 billion equity and debt financing for IHS Towers, Africa's leading African telecoms infrastructure business

·         a leading pan-African private equity firm in connection with a $130 million equity financing for East Africa’s leading media and telecoms company, operating in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia

·         the Government of Liberia in connection with the development of a 125 MW coal fired power project with one of India's largest steel, iron and coal conglomerates

·         a leading pan-African private equity firm in connection with the restructuring of a leading publicly-listed fertilizer company in Nigeria

·         a leading pan-African private equity firm in connection with a $1 billion equity financing for IHS Towers to finance operations in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire

·         a leading mining company in connection with the development and project financing of a 215-MW, power facility, 100-km transmission line and LNG regasification facility in the Dominican Republic

·         a leading German investment bank and a syndicate of lenders in the $1.25 billion project financing of seven melamine/urea ammonium nitrate/ammonia plants owned and operated in Trinidad and Tobago

·         a leading U.S. investment bank and a syndicate of lenders in the $1.25 billion financing for the acquisition of a prominent U.S. manufacturer encompassing 32 companies in 12 different countries

·         a leading German investment bank and a syndicate of lenders in the $860 million financing for the acquisition of a U.S. water utility

·         a leading U.S. investment bank and a syndicate of lenders in the $350 million financing for the acquisition of 18 solar, geothermal and wind projects located across the Western United States

·         a leading Canadian investment bank and Canadian credit support agency in the $288 million financing for the acquisition of a 156 MW hydroelectric plant located in Brazil

·         a leading U.S. investment bank and a syndicate of lenders in the $2.5 billion financing of a five-year facility to be used for general corporate purposes by a national insurance company

·         a leading U.S. investment bank and a syndicate of lenders in the $500 million financing of a 364-day facility to be used for general corporate purposes by a national insurance company

·         a leading U.S. investment bank and a syndicate of lenders in the $200 million financing of a five-year facility to be used for general corporate purposes by a national insurance company

·         a leading U.S. investment bank and a syndicate of lenders in the $180 million financing of a 364-day facility to be used for general corporate purposes by a wealth management group

·         a leading U.S. investment bank in the $45 million financing of a five-year facility to be used for general corporate purposes by a professional staffing corporation

·         a leading U.S. investment bank in the $30 million financing of a five-year facility to be used for general corporate purposes by a pharmaceutical products and services corporation

·         a leading U.S. private equity investor in the development of the project financing of the construction of $1 billion of tanker vessels a joint venture between a shipping company and certain equity funds