Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Enel Green Power S.p.A. (EGP), as sponsor, and three project companies as borrowers (Villanueva Solar, Parque Solar Don Jose and Parque Solar Villanueva Tres) on a $605m limited recourse financing of a 1 GW portfolio of solar PV parks in Mexico comprised of: Villanueva I (470 MW), Villanueva III (350 MW) and Don Jose (220 MW). EGP entered the Mexican renewables market in 2008 and is currently the main clean energy operator in the country.

The multi-jurisdictional Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by Milan-based partner and head of the Italian project finance and energy practices, Arturo Sferruzza, with assistance from Milan-based of counsel Luigi Costa and Elisabetta Negrini and senior associate Ginevra Biadico. The team also included lawyers from across the firm's New York, Mexico City, London and Amsterdam offices including New York-based partners Kessar Nashat and Todd Alexander, Mexico City-based partners Hernan Gonzalez Estrada and Mario Piana, and partner Daniel Frank of the firm's London office.

EGP's in-house legal team was led by general counsel Edgar Miller and coordinated by senior counsel Sergio Salluh. The team also included comprised general counsel, Latin America Daniel Munoz, senior lawyer Rogelio Valles and finance lawyers Anna Ambrogio and Lucia Guerra.

Arturo Sferruzza commented: "We are delighted that this major financing has received the prestigious PFI Magazine award for "Americas Solar Deal of the Year". The deal was connected to the complex M&A transaction that reached financial close in 2018 for which we advised Enel S.p.A. on the sale of 80% of the share capital of eight SPVs owning a 1.8 GW portfolio of Mexican solar PV parks to Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and the investment vehicle of the leading Mexican pension funds CKD Infraestructura Mexico S.A. de C.V.. This was an innovative M&A transaction that was carried out using a Build, Sell and Operate (BSO) model, in line with Enel Group's Strategic Plan."