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Kemal Hawa

Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity at Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Washington, D.C., United States

KH
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Why they matter

The lawyer of record on nearly every marquee data center and tower deal of the last few years — a near-mandatory call before any digital infrastructure transaction.

Background

Kemal Hawa is a corporate M&A and private equity partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he joined in January 2025 from Greenberg Traurig. He is one of the most recognized lawyers in the digital infrastructure sector, representing large private equity firms, infrastructure funds, real estate investors and lenders on data center, telecom tower, fiber and cloud transactions globally. He holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law (1996) and a B.A. from Georgetown University (1992).

Notable deals

  • 2025
    Represented U.S. Internet Corp. (Minneapolis-area fiber/wireless provider) in its sale to Metronet
  • 2024
    Led the corporate team advising Vertical Bridge on its ~$3.3 billion, 6,300+ tower transaction with Verizon
  • 2022
    Represented The Carlyle Group in its acquisition of data center operator Involta LLC

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Partner, M&A and Private Equity (Digital Infrastructure focus), Kirkland & Ellis, Washington D.C.
  • Joined Kirkland January 2025 from Greenberg Traurig, where he co-chaired the Digital Infrastructure, Data Center and Cloud Computing group.
  • J.D., American University (1996); B.A., Georgetown (1992).

Current focus

  • Data center M&A, tower/telecom infrastructure deals, fiber network transactions, and the commercial agreements (leases, MSAs, interconnection/submarine cable deals) underlying them.
  • Named to Capacity Media's "Global Data Center Power 50" (2025) — the only lawyer on the list — and its "Power 100" (2023).

What they care about

  • Deal execution speed and structuring for infrastructure funds and PE sponsors moving into digital infrastructure.
  • Cross-border and multi-jurisdictional data center/tower platforms; hyperscale capacity procurement.

Recent moves

  • Advised U.S. Internet Corp. on its sale to Metronet (2025).
  • Advised Vertical Bridge on its $3.3B tower deal with Verizon (2024, while at Greenberg Traurig).
  • Prior Carlyle Group mandates: Involta acquisition and up to $1B Tillman Infrastructure investment.

Sensitivities

  • Still building his book at Kirkland after a lateral move in Jan 2025 — check for conflicts with prior Greenberg Traurig clients.
  • Heavy Carlyle relationship history; probe whether that creates conflicts on competing sponsor mandates.

Questions to ask

  1. Which data center/tower sponsors has he onboarded since moving to Kirkland, and are any live now?
  2. How does he see hyperscale capacity and power constraints reshaping deal structures in 2026?
  3. Are there conflicts from legacy Greenberg Traurig or Carlyle relationships that would limit representation on our target?

Outreach draft

Subject
Quick call on data center infrastructure deals?
Hi Kemal, I've been following your work on the Vertical Bridge/Verizon tower transaction and the U.S. Internet/Metronet deal — impressive run of digital infrastructure mandates. We're a private equity team actively evaluating data center colocation opportunities and would value your perspective on how deal structures and diligence priorities are shifting in this space. Would you have 20 minutes in the next couple of weeks for a call? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Your Name]

Linked companies

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