Baker McKenzie has advised BNP Paribas which acted as documentation agent and lead arranger of a term loan taken out by EEHC (Egyptian Electricity Holding Company), as well as the banking syndicate involved in the operation. This 470 million dollar loan will make it possible to convert two power plants, in Assiut and West Damietta, from simple cycle to combined cycle. In the context of this financing, EEHC is covered by a guarantee from the Egyptian Ministry of Finance. The signing ceremony for the financing agreements will be held today in Cairo.

As part of its role as documentation agent and lead arranger, BNP Paribas coordinated the operation together with the other mandated lead arrangers which were Crédit Agricole CIB, CIC and ING.
SACE, the Italian export credit insurance agency, also participated in the operation as primary export credit agency in order to guarantee the buyer credit of this term loan.

BNP Paribas is a leading bank in Europe with international renown. It is present in 75 countries, with more than 189,000 members of staff, including over 146,000 in Europe. The Group has a GNP of 42.9 billion euros.

BNP Paribas was advised by an international team of lawyers from Baker McKenzie including Michael Foundethakis, a partner in the Paris office and head of the EMEA Bank & Finance team, accompanied by Nicholas Macheras, associate. In Cairo, the team from Helmy, Hamza and Partners, an Egyptian firm which is a member of the Baker McKenzie network, was led by Mohamed Ghannam, partner, and Lamyaa H. Gadelhak, associate.