Rick Perry’s Energy REIT IPO Is Aided by Texas-Founded Firms (1)

Haynes Boone and Vinson & Elkins guided the initial public offering for Fermi Inc., a real estate investment trust co-founded by former US Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

The company sold 32.5 million shares for $21 each to raise $682.5 million, according to a statement. The IPO values the company at $13.8 billion.

Fermi’s public debut marks “the first-ever dual listing, Nasdaq and London Stock Exchange, simultaneous,” Nick Davis, a partner in Haynes Boone’s London office, said in an interview. Matthew Fry, who led the firm’s capital markets team in Dallas, said he teamed up with the London office on the artificial intelligence data center development.

“This is the perfect example of what we’re trying to do, which is to have great securities lawyers on both sides of the pond and execute on transactions for our clients whether they are on any of the primary markets,” Fry said.

Fermi is among a wave of companies turning to US and international energy law firms to advise on ambitions to construct massive data centers in Texas to fuel the global AI boom. Perry, who was governor of Texas before serving as energy secretary in President Donald Trump’s first term, is a director of the company.

Fermi, based in Amarillo, Texas, will trade under the ticker FRMI on the Nasdaq exchange on Wednesday. The company is expected to list on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Founded in January, Fermi plans to build one of the world’s largest data center developments, according to a Securities and Exchange filing Sept. 29. The company’s flagship “Project Matador” is expected to sit on more than 5,000 acres of land leased from Texas Tech University. The project is near the Department of Energy’s Pantex Plant, the nation’s primary nuclear weapons center.

Dallas-headquartered Haynes Boone and Houston’s Vinson & Elkins are among the largest Texas-founded law firms.

Gas, Nuclear

The first phase calls to attract tenants on to the campus, and deliver about 1 gigawatt of power as soon as the end of 2026, according to the filing. By 2038, the company hopes to secure 11 gigawatts through a mix of natural gas, solar energy and nuclear power.

Fry said the company had several rounds of financing, acquired power generation materials and leased the acreage in the last year. “Getting all of that done in such a short period of time is a really impressive story,” he said.

Haynes Boone associate Logan Weissler in Dallas and London partner Robert Bines-Black -in London also worked on the transaction.

The firm was assisted Vinson & Elkins partners David Oelman in Houston and Daniel LeBey in Richmond, Virginia, according to the SEC filings. The offering was led by UBS Group AG, Evercore ISI, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Mizuho.

In a separate IPO, Latham & Watkins said Tuesday it represented Phoenix Energy One LLC in the successful closing of 2.7 million preferred shares. Orange County/Bay area partner Ross McAloon and Washington, DC partner Christopher Clark led the work, according to a Latham statement. The firm said it has acted as legal counsel to Phoenix Energy since 2023.