Watson, Farley & Williams (“WFW”), has advised ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (“ABN AMRO”) on a US$172 million loan facility made available to Ardmore Shipping. The facility was signed on 19 March and the loan is to provide financing for Ardmore Shipping’s acquisition of eight newbuild vessels.

The eight newbuildings comprise MR2 tankers, MR1 tankers and chemical tankers under construction at SPP Shipholding Co. Ltd., and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea, and Fukuoka Shipbuilding Co., Ltd in Japan.  

Ashurst advised the European Investment Bank (EIB) on financing the research and development activities (R&D) of wind turbine manufacturer Nordex SE. The bank will provide the company with a loan of €100 million for its multi-year R&D programme.

The EIB is the European Union's bank for long-term financing. It is owned by the member states of the EU. Apart from financing research, development and innovation, the bank focuses its activities on strategic infrastructure, resource efficiency as well as small to mid-size companies.

Ashurst has advised the lenders to Agility Trains East on the successful financial close of the second phase of the Department for Transport's £5.7bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP) project.

The banking group includes Japan Bank for International Co-operation, EIB, BTMU, Lloyds, HSBC, SMBC, Mitsubishi Trust Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Mizuho, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale and the Development Bank of Japan.

Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) provided insurance for part of the loan.

Norton Rose Fulbright advised a syndicate of lenders on a limited recourse financing to PT Hoegh LNG Lampung for the purpose of financing the construction of one LNG Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) under construction in Korea and the procurement of a tower yoke mooring system.

The FSRU was delivered to PT Hoegh LNG Lampung last week and is en route to Indonesia where she will be employed offshore south Sumatra under time charter to PT PGN LNG Indonesia, a subsidiary of PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) Tbk for an initial period of 20 years.

Paul Hastings LLP represented Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. as agent and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, in connection with XPO Logistics, Inc.’s $415 million asset based revolving loan credit facility.

Mayer Brown, a leading global law firm, announced today that it represented BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and HSBC as underwriters on the $432 million issuance of a senior secured project bond by Abengoa Transmisión Sur (ATS). The project comprises the design, construction, development, ownership and operation of a transmission line that will provide power connectivity from Lima to south-western Peru.

Clifford Chance advised DVB Bank SE and Siemens Financial Services as finance providers for the acquisition of up to 50 locomotives by ELL Group (European Locomotive Leasing). The Austrian-German ELL Group is a provider of full-service locomotive leasing solutions to the European railway industry that was established by investor KKR to address a growing market need. The order is for electric AC/MS locomotives equipped with the European Train Control System, which allows seamless domestic and cross-border traffic.

Hogan Lovells has advised the Department for Transport (DfT) on the financing of the £2.7 billion East Coast phase of the UK's Intercity Express Programme (IEP) which closed Tuesday 15 April 2014.

The IEP, worth a total of £5.7 billion, comprises the design, build, finance and maintenance of around 122 trains over a period of 30 years. It also provides for construction and upgrade of essential maintenance depots.

New national public-private partnership to transform the home energy loan market -- warehouse facility to facilitate $100 million medium term note program

M3nergy is an emerging exploration and production company headquartered in Malaysia. It is owned by Sabah Development Bank and its strategic focus is on marginal field development, with 15 years of experience in the field. PT Transamudra is an owner and operator of vessels in the offshore oil and gas sector headquartered in Indonesia.