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The Maine Legislature in 2011 passed a landmark bill (PL 90) aimed at reforming the failing individual health insurance market in Maine. The bill authorized establishment of a new non-governmental insurance company (the Maine Guaranteed Access Reinsurance Association, or “MGARA”) that would provide reinsurance to cover the sickest individuals historically responsible for the bulk of the health services used and corresponding costs, with the ultimate goal of reducing premiums in that market. The Board of Directors of MGARA retained Pierce Atwood to analyze the new groundbreaking law, form the new reinsurance company, guide its financing and other operations, and work with the Legislature and Bureau of Insurance through this complex process. MGARA began its operations in July 2012 as planned and is currently providing reinsurance for over 3,000 of Maine's sickest individuals. Pierce Atwood is proud to have served MGARA and the State in this important work.
We serve as The Hinckley Company’s outside general counsel, advising them on virtually all of their legal needs. Our close working relationship with Hinckley’s management team allows us understand Hinckley’s long term and strategic objectives, which in turn allows us to provide specifically tailored strategic advice with a full appreciation of the nuances of Hinckley’s business and growth strategy.
We assisted the Farnsworth Art Museum, located in Rockland, Maine, with a combined state and federal new markets tax credit financing, helping the museum to secure capital needed for critical repairs and improvements to the building. The NMTC investment has allowed the museum, which opened in 1948 and boasts a remarkable collection of over 15,000 objects, to stay open and continue welcoming more than 100,000 visitors annually.
We are working with Dixville Capital LLC to bring back to life and dramatically expand the historic Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in New Hampshire. The project will involve real estate assembly, negotiation of critical path agreements with various constituents, capital markets access, permitting, and resort and real estate development. In addition to working with startups, through our Catalyst Program we also work with investors that are involved with launching and re-launching businesses throughout the country.
Pierce Atwood represented Great Bay Renewables in connection with its $45 million royalty financing of U.S. renewable energy developer Hexagon Energy, LLC. With this transaction, Great Bay gains future royalties related to Hexagon’s portfolio of solar, solar plus energy storage and standalone energy storage development projects. Hexagon’s portfolio currently consists of 43 development projects totaling 5.3 GWac located across 12 states and four regional transmission organizations.
Pierce Atwood represented Great Bay Renewables in connection with its $30 million royalty investment in Apex Clean Energy’s 195 MWac Angelo Solar project in Tom Green County, Texas.
Pierce Atwood represented Great Bay Renewables in its $35 million royalty investment in a 250MW solar project developed by Longroad Energy, known as Prospero 2. The Prospero 2 solar project, located in Andrews County, Texas, achieved commercial operation on August 2, 2021, and is operated by Longroad. The solar facility is located on land leased from the University of Texas under a long-term lease agreement.
Representation of Great Bay Renewables, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Altius Renewable Royalties Corp., a subsidiary of Canadian company Altius Minerals Corporation.
We represented Madison Paper Industries, a major pulp and paper company, in all corporate, environmental, and real estate aspects of the sale of all of its remaining Maine assets in three separate transactions to three different, unrelated parties. Facilities sold included pulp and paper production facilities, hydropower facilities, and a closed solid waste landfill.
In a multi-office effort, a team of Mergers & Acquisitions attorneys from our Business Group represented a major Northeastern food products company in the complex spinoff of a significant subsidiary in a transaction valued at over $128 million. This transaction involved exhaustive due diligence, complex transition arrangements and intricate indemnification arrangements.
Working together, our Business and Trusts & Estates lawyers helped our client Tom’s of Maine negotiate the sale of a controlling interest in the company to Colgate-Palmolive, in which the family retained a 16% interest.
We assisted the owners of OrthoLite in a successful recapitalization involving the sale of equity interests to a private equity firm and the rollover by management of a significant continuing equity position. Headquartered in Amherst, MA, with offices in Portland, OR and Hong Kong, and manufacturing facilities in China and Vietnam, OrthoLite is the world's leading supplier of comfort insoles. OrthoLite sells more than 140 million pairs of insoles annually, for use in footwear brands by Adidas, ASICS, New Balance, Merrell, Nike, Puma, Vans and Timberland.
