Allen & Overy advised the lenders on the financing of the 25-year Public Private Partnership (PPP) concession for the running and maintenance of Belgrade airport by VINCI Airports, the upgrade of its terminals and runways and the takeover of the concession’s operation.

This financing constitutes the largest PPP transaction ever carried out in Serbia and a milestone in the redevelopment of Belgrade Airport, which aims to become a major hub in south-eastern Europe.To complete this transaction, VINCI Airports received financing amounting to EUR420 million, maturing over a maximum of 17 years, from four multilateral institutions – IFC (International Finance Corporation, World Bank group), EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), Proparco (Agence Française de Développement group) and DEG (Deutsche Investitions - und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH - KfW Group) - and from six commercial banks (UniCredit, Intesa, Erste, Société Générale, Kommunalkredit and CIC).

Commenting on the transaction, partner Driss Bererhi said: “This is a perfect illustration of A&O’s integrated and globalised offer and of our capacity to dedicate teams and expertise from different offices in order to deliver the best service to our clients."

This transaction involved lawyers from A&O’s Paris and London offices, with a cross-border team led by partners Driss Bererhi and Lorraine Bayliss, and by Rod Cork.