DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT / PRESS RELEASE
July 23, 2025
Read time: 3 min
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery represented Chestnut Carbon (Chestnut), a nature-based carbon project developer, on a non-recourse project finance facility of up to $210 million. This is a first-of-its-kind bank financing deal for a US voluntary carbon removal afforestation project and was led by J.P. Morgan and a syndicate of leading lenders including CoBank, Bank of Montreal, and East West Bank.
Backed by the long-term carbon removal supply agreement between Chestnut and Microsoft Corporation signed earlier this year, this credit facility represents the first-of-its-kind financing of one of the largest carbon removal agreements in the U.S. and is a significant step in opening the nature-based carbon market to non-recourse bank financing.
The McDermott team was led by Ed Zaelke, Jeeseon Ahn, and Andrew Kim with invaluable assistance from Kate Williams, Garrett Brann, and Eliza Clark.
Leading organizations turn to global law firm McDermott Will & Emery for a better way to address legal challenges, connect with those at the forefront, and drive stronger outcomes. Working across more than 20 offices globally, our 1,400+ lawyers act on data-driven insights, deep relationships, and unmatched industry experience to deliver on our commitment of Always Better.
