The “Meerwind” offshore wind farm controlled by private equity investor Blackstone has fully refinanced its existing loans by the placement of green bonds in an amount of more than one billion US dollars (approx. 978 million euros). The complex refinancing includes several components and combines various financing instruments from different legal systems, including a U.S. private placement. This marks the first placement of green bonds by an operational offshore wind farm. 

International law firm Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised three banking syndicates led by Banco Santander on the €423M debt refinancing of Renovalia Solar’s photovoltaic portfolio.

The portfolio, one of the largest of its kind in Spain, comprises three major photovoltaic projects- in Casa de los Pinos, Puertollano and Albacete – with an aggregate maximum capacity of 69 MW which were refinanced in three consecutive phases, with the last, Renovalia Solar 2, completing on 28th December 2015.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised a consortium of 10 lenders, led by Banco Santander, on the €528m financial restructuring of Olivento, Spain’s largest onshore wind portfolio with a total capacity of 422MW.

Sponsored by FCC and Plenium FMPG, Olivento consists of 14 plants located in various autonomous regions, including Almería, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, León, Lugo, Pontevedra, Teruel, Toledo and Zaragoza.

Tech Mahindra Limited, a leading provider of IT, Networks and Engineering solutions and BPO services, and Mahindra & Mahindra, part of the global $ 16.9 billion Mahindra Group, have jointly entered into an agreement with PincarS.r.l., to purchase a controlling stake in Pininfarina S.p.A., an iconic Italian brand in automotive and industrial design.

Clifford Chance advised OPIC and IFC on all aspects of the financing of the renovation of the 52.9MW combined cycle power plant running on heavy fuel with the option of conversion to natural gas located at the site of Cap des Biches in Senegal, including:

* Reviewing and commenting on all project documents, including the PPA with the national offtaker; and
* Drafting all financing documents and related security across four jurisdictions (Senegal, New York, England, Luxembourg)

McCann FitzGerald has advised Coillte Teoranta in respect of its investment in a joint venture wind farm project with SSE Plc. In December 2015, Coillte and SSE Plc jointly completed financing for €176m in respect of the construction of a 105MW wind farm. The project, located in Cloosh Valley, south-west of Oughterard, Galway is set to be Ireland’s largest wind farm.

Contact:
Paul Heffernan

Dubai—Dentons has advised National Central Cooling Company PJSC (“Tabreed”) on the AED192.5 million financing obtained from Emirates NBD for the development of Tabreed’s district cooling plant for Dubai Parks and Resorts.

Norton Rose Fulbright has assisted international power generation company ContourGlobal on the financing of the renovation of the Cap des Biches power plant in Senegal that will reach a capacity of 53MW. The combined cycle power plant will operate on heavy fuel with an option to convert to natural gas.

Our lawyers have advised on the implementation of the innovative financing model of the project which was supported by International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the swap to EUR of Overseas Private Investment Corporation’s (OPIC) $91 million financing.

Linklaters has advised a club of banks on a €557 million loan agreement for EuroChem’s ammonia project in Russia. The facility, which is structured as a limited-recourse €557 million 13.5 year project finance facility, benefits from insurance cover provided by the Italian Export Credit Agency SACE in respect of both political and commercial risks.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised the investors, Macquarie Corporate and Asset Finance as arranger, SFM Trustees Limited as security and bond trustee and Elavon Financial Limited as cash manager on the launch of an innovative, first-in-kind, capital markets transaction for Virgin Atlantic.