About

Number of years practice: 16 Principal practice areas: M&A, private equity, projects and energy Bar admissions: New York, District of Columbia Languages spoken: English

Based between New York and Washington, DC, David Penna co-chairs Latham & Watkins’ project development and finance department, and is an increasingly pivotal member of the Latin America practice. He is especially active in oil, gas, conventional power, renewable energy and infrastructure transactions. Clients have described him as ‘a superstar’; he has longstanding experience acting for lenders, borrowers and sponsors on developing, financing and acquiring domestic and international projects. One highlight was his advice to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec on its acquisition of a 80% stake in Enel Green Power’s Mexico-based portfolio of solar and wind assets – one of the many renewables transactions that comprise a continually active area for his practice. On the oil-and-gas side, Penna assisted Fermaca Global on the $820m financing of its Northern Mexico pipeline, the first natural gas pipeline to obtain funding since new hydrocarbons legislation was passed by the Mexican government in 2017. In 2016, he acted for Fermaca Global on the $425m financing of the 378km Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara pipeline, and on the $622m financing of the 450km La Laguna-Aguascalientes pipeline. In previous years, he acted for Fermaca Global on the $858m development and financing of the 445km El Encino-La Laguna pipeline, as well as advising Fermaca Infrastructure on its joint venture with ONEOK Partners to construct a gas pipeline from the Permian Basin in Texas to Mexico.