Paul Hastings Advises on Five 2019 IJGlobal Awards

July 21, 2020

New York – Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce that its Energy and Infrastructure Team (ranked Band 1, and LatAm Projects Team of the Year 2019 by Chambers) advised on five transactions that won “deal of the year” awards at the 2019 IJGlobal Awards for the following categories:

Petrochemical Bond Financing: Braskem Idesa Refinancing: Braskem’s debut international bond issuance was well-received with the $900 million senior secured offering used to partially refinance its existing secured project finance debt incurred in 2012 to construct Braskem Idesa’s Etileno XXI petrochemical complex in Nanchital, Veracruz, Mexico.
Airport Private Placement Refinancing: El Dorado International Airport: OPAIN, which is responsible for the expansion, upgrade, maintenance and operations of Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport, issued $415 million private placement of 4(a)(2) notes due December 2026. The proceeds from the placement were used to refinance OPAIN’s existing US Dollar debt. This transaction not only represents the first Colombian issuance in dollars in recent memory, but is also one of the largest project bonds ever issued by a Colombian company.
Road Bank and MLA Financings: Autopista Al Mar 1: Colombia's Cuarta Generacíon (4G) road infrastructure program, the largest road project in Latin America, has reached another milestone with the financial close of the Colombian road Autopista al Mar 1. The new road will connect the city of Medellín to the main highways in the country, including other 4G road projects Autopista al Mar 2 and Conexión Pacífico 2.
Distributed Solar Power Private Placement Refi: Ergon Private Placement: Ergon Peru, a subsidiary of Tozzi Green, issued a $222 million green bond to refinance the bank loan for a solar PV distributed generation project that installed solar kits in rural areas across the country. SMBC also provided a letter of credit (LC) totaling $14.5 million. The senior secured bond was issued under a private placement in the US and was acquired by a group of 42 institutional investors.
Rail Mezzanine Financing: Ferrocaril Central: the largest infrastructure investment in Uruguay’s history and the first international railroad PPP in the country, Ferrocarril Central is a railroad that will connect a pulp mill to the Port of Montevideo, facilitating exports. Financing closed in October 2019, with dual-currency funding in US dollars and in UI (an inflation-indexed currency unit used in Uruguay for investments). Aiming at additional flexibility to leverage the equity, the financing structure included a tranche of mezzanine.

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