Overview
Thomas Hoffmann (Tom) is a partner and business lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Finance Practice and of the Energy Sector Team. Tom and the Foley finance team represent more than half of the perennial leading lenders to the U.S. renewable energy industry. Tom focuses his practice on energy industry financing transactions, project development investments, and acquisitions of project portfolios. He is also a member of the firm’s Energy Sector.
Tom frequently represents lenders, developers, and investors in the development and financing of projects including solar, wind, and biomass projects as well as gas and cogeneration projects. Tom has also represented electric utilities in various transactions as well as private purchasers and sellers of electric power assets. He has pioneered many of the cutting edge mechanisms in project finance for renewable energy, including: “unitranche” financing structures in solar construction loans; equipment loans, upper tier development loans, and portfolio HoldCo acquisition and term loans.
Education
- New York University School of Law (J.D.)
- Oxford University (M.A.)
- Georgetown University (B.A.)
Recognition
- Chambers USA (2012-2023)
- The Legal 500 (2012-2023)
Admissions
- Maryland
- Washington, D.C.
Recent Transaction Highlights
- Tom has represented more than a dozen lenders in solar/storage portfolio loans, for construction and term debt in financings ranging from US$100m to US$350m. He has also represented borrowers for acquisition and term loans for solar portfolios, which have ranged as large at 80 projects in a single portfolio.
- Under Tom’s leadership, Foley is known for creating efficient diligence procedures and “screening” mechanisms that meet lender needs but allow borrowers to avoid overly repetitive, excessive diligence.
- Tom has led lender legal teams for numerous utility-scale financings, recently in states as diverse as North Carolina, Illinois, California, Texas and Arizona. The Foley teams have earned a reputation for early issue – spotting, to avoid late-stage barriers to closings.
- Recently, Tom advised on the structure of several different HoldCo development loans, including borrowers within various locations in organizational charts.
- Tom has worked on (and led lender-side legal teams in) the majority of the unitranche financings in the renewable finance market. These deal included both construction-only and construction to term, and novel take-out arrangements.
- Tom has represented numerous lenders in negotiations with tax equity syndicators, helping to shape the market for credit support from upper tier investors.