Leena Chopra
Overview
Leena Chopra is a partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She concentrates her practice on commercial real estate transactions with an emphasis on complex real estate financings, joint venture formations, acquisitions and dispositions. Leena’s experience includes representation of private equity companies, public and private REITs, developers, sponsors and operators.
Leena’s portfolio of deals includes multi-billion dollar transactions across numerous asset classes, including industrial, data center, retail, office, student housing, multifamily, hospitality, health care, manufactured home communities and mixed-use developments. She has been involved in advising developers and other parties directly and indirectly through joint venture agreements. Leena also advises borrowers and lenders on securitized, conventional and mezzanine financings. Among Leena’s most sophisticated deals is two committed, secured real estate financings totaling $9 billion in relation to the acquisition of CyrusOne Inc.
Prior to her legal career, Leena was a professional opera singer. She made her Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Broadway and Chicago Symphony Orchestra debuts all before graduating from The Juilliard School. Leena has performed as a soloist with the Seattle, Santa Fe and Wolf Trap opera companies, in additional to numerous international engagements throughout Europe and North America.
Experience
Representative Matters
Represented CyrusOne on a $7.9 billion U.S. warehouse facility and $1.8 billion revolving credit facility, bringing the total debt capital raised to approximately $9.7 billion.
Represented private equity sponsor in $9 billion mortgage loan financing secured by data centers located across the United States.
Represented developer in a platform development joint venture under which the members made aggregate capital commitments of $714 million. The venture, which was announced on June 2, 2023, is expected to acquire and develop in excess of $2.14 billion of single-family rental projects in major growth metropolitan areas throughout the U.S.
Advised Core Spaces in a platform development joint venture with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, under which the members made aggregate capital commitments of $500 million. The venture is expected to acquire and develop in excess of $1.5 billion of single-family rental projects in major growth metropolitan areas throughout the U.S.
Represented TPG Real Estate on its joint venture with Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, in which TPG acquired majority stake in three stabilized hyperscale data centers in Northern Virginia and the related financing thereof. The three hyperscale data centers were contributed to the joint venture at an aggregate value of $1.5 billion.
Represented borrower in the $1.2 billion refinancing of a portfolio of extended stay hotels.
Represented developer in several platform development joint ventures with various real estate private equity firms, under which the members made aggregate capital commitments of over $600 million. The ventures will acquire and develop single-family rental projects.
Represented client on its $600 million programmatic joint venture for acquisition and development of student housing properties across the United States.
Represented international REIT in the acquisition and financing of a $600 million portfolio of healthcare properties.
Represented developer in platform development joint venture with two sovereign wealth fund investors pursuant to which the members made capital commitments in excess of $500 million for the acquisition and development of student housing projects.
Represented client in a series of sales of student housing facilities worth over $500 million.
Advised borrower in a $325 million construction and mezzanine loan secured by a portfolio of industrial facilities.
Represented borrower on $250 million senior secured mortgage loan facility including delayed draw mortgage loans.
Represented private equity lender in origination of $250 million mortgage loan secured by 266,000 acre cattle ranch in Texas.
Represented seller in disposition of $210 million industrial warehouse portfolio located in Texas.
Represented client on the $207 million sale of industrial portfolio in Texas.
Represented sponsor in $172 million joint venture, acquisition, financing and management agreement for office and development property in Florida.
Represented client on its $160 million financing of industrial property in Washington.
Represented client on its $66 million co-GP programmatic joint venture for acquisition and development of single-family residential properties across the United States.
Advised U.S. private equity fund and its Affiliates with respect to a distressed portfolio of senior housing assets. Advised on the negotiation of a receivership, related litigation matters, forbearance and deed-in-lieu agreements, potential restructuring of debt, various management company transition matters and executive compensation and employee benefits.
Represented client on its programmatic joint venture for acquisition and redevelopment of multifamily properties in South Carolina and Tennessee.
Represented client on its bridge loan related to programmatic joint venture for the acquisition of loans secured by hospitality assets in the United States.
Prior Experience
Pro Bono
Leena has advised Tree House Humane Society on various of their operational needs, and works with Lawyers for Good Government on legislation regarding voter disenfranchisement laws.
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Recognition
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- Illinois
Education
- University of Illinois Chicago School of LawJ.D.2013
- The Juilliard SchoolM.M.
- The Juilliard SchoolB.M.