IJGlobal, an infrastructure and energy online news and data service, has honored global law firm White & Case LLP with 11 "Deal of the Year" awards at their annual IJGlobal Americas Awards 2023. In a record-breaking year for our Latin America practice, the White & Case team advised on several groundbreaking deals and projects in the energy, infrastructure, ESG and sustainability sectors that were recognized by IJGlobal, as described below.
The winning deals are:
North America
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Water Deal of the Year: Fort Lauderdale Water Treatment Plant Redevelopment P3
White & Case advised the sponsors, Ridgewood Infrastructure and IDE Technologies on their unsolicited proposal to the City of Fort Lauderdale for the development of the Prospect Lake Clean Water Center. A novel US public-private partnership financing, the equity investors will fund 25% of the project costs while the City will combine the risk transfer to their private partners for delivery and long-term maintenance of the project, with low-cost financing raised separately by the City to fund 75% of the project costs.
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Oil & Gas Deal of the Year–LNG: Rio Grande LNG
White & Case advised Mubadala Investment Company on its participation in a joint venture alongside NextDecade Corporation (ND), Global Infrastructure Partners, GIC and TotalEnergies in connection with the US$18.4 billion financing of the construction of the first three liquefaction trains at ND's 27 million tonnes per annum Rio Grande LNG export facility in Brownsville, Texas. The financing is the largest greenfield energy project financing in US history.
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Power Deal of the Year–Gas-Fired: Generation Bridge Northeast Refinancing
White & Case advised Jefferies, Investec, the Bank of Montreal, Goldman Sachs and MUFG as joint lead arrangers and Starwood, as a Term LC Issuer, in the structuring and closing of a Term Loan B refinancing relating to eight natural gas power plants, each with an installed capacity ranging from 133MW to 1,617MW located in Connecticut and New York. The borrower and sponsor were Generation Bridge Northeast, LLC and ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC, respectively.
Latin America
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Energy Transition Deal of the Year & Renewable Energy Deal of the Year–Solar: Project Mendubim
White & Case advised IDB Invest, a multilateral development bank, on the US$440 million limited recourse project financing for the Mendubim 531 MWp portfolio of solar photovoltaic power plants, transmission line and associated interconnection facilities located in the municipality of Assú, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. The project will help Brazil, a leader in clean energy in Latin America, secure its electricity supply.
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Renewable Energy Deal of the Year–Onshore: Feijão Wind Complex
White & Case advised a syndicate of leading international banks on the US$700 million non-recourse financing of Project Feijão, a 456 MW wind project in Brazil being developed by Macquarie Asset Management's Green Investment Group and Hydro Rein, Norsk Hydro's dedicated company for renewables development. The project will supply 100 percent of the electricity required for Hydro's bauxite mine, Paragominas, and further reduce carbon emissions from Hydro's alumina refinery, Alunorte.
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Water Deal of the Year–Distribution: Águas Do Rio
White & Case advised Aegea Saneamento e Participações S.A. and Águas do Rio 1 and Águas do Rio 4 concessionaires on a R$1.5 billion (approximately US$300 million) financing provided by IDB Invest, including a R$500 million (approximately US$100 million) guarantee from Proparco for the benefit of IDB Invest, to strengthen the water and sanitation services in the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The financing is part of the largest project financing in Brazil's sanitation sector.
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Green Bond Deal of the Year: Solek PMGD and Utility Scale
White & Case advised solar power developer Solek Holding and certain of its subsidiaries on a senior secured credit facility whose proceeds will be used to develop a portfolio of photovoltaic plants in Chile. The development falls under the country's "PMGD" regime, whose aim is to incentivize distributed electricity generation in Chile and to meet the country's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
White & Case also advised Solek and certain of its affiliates on a series of transactions across its capital structure, including on a senior secured, limited recourse project-level construction facilities to finance the construction of certain utility-scale and distributed energy solar projects. This will allow Solek to finance its ongoing expansion of its solar energy business in Latin America.
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Oil & Gas Deal of the Year–LNG: TC Energía Mexicana
White & Case advised TC Energy Corporation on a US$2.3 billion senior term loan and revolving loan financing of its Mexican subsidiary, TC Energía Mexicana, S. de R.L. de C.V., and guaranteed by three of its Mexican affiliates. The loan proceeds were used to refinance existing intercompany debt, which will facilitate the development and construction of the TGNH Southeast Gateway Pipeline, a US$4.5 billion offshore natural gas pipeline project being developed by TC Energy and Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Mexico's state-owned electric utility.
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Oil & Gas Deal of the Year–Other: TQPM
White & Case advised Terminal Química Puerto México, S.A.P.I. on its US$440 million senior secured debt financing extended by a group of commercial and development banks. TQPM will use the proceeds to construct an ethane import terminal for the receipt and storage of imported cryogenic ethane in the State of Veracruz, Mexico and a pipeline to deliver ethane to Braskem Idesa's nearby petrochemical complex.
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Export Finance Deal of the Year: CSN Mineração S.A. Export Pre-payment Financing
White & Case advised CSN Mineração S.A., the mining arm of Brazilian integrated steel producer Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional S.A., in connection with an export pre-payment financing facility, for an aggregate principal amount of up to US$1.4 billion. CSN Mineração S.A. will use the proceeds of this financing for the construction of a new pellet feed plant to supply high-quality iron ore to its customers, allowing them to produce low-carbon steel and supporting decarbonization strategies for the steel sector. The new plant is expected to produce 15 million tons of pellet feed annually.
Christian Hansen, partner and head of the Latin America Practice Group, said, "We are thrilled that IJGlobal has recognized 11 of our transactions as Deals of the Year. Our success always starts with client service, which we combine with the unmatched expertise, experience and cross-practice legal abilities of our Americas team. Moreover, these awards showcase our extraordinary ability to successfully advise our clients on some of the region's most innovative deals and projects that span multiple industries. We are grateful to our clients for continuously trusting us to advise them on their most significant and complex deals."
Elena Millerman, the Firm's Global Head of Project Development and Finance, said, "We are very pleased to be recognized by IJGlobal for a multitude of awards capping off an extraordinary year. Our energy and infrastructure team is proud to continue working with our clients on the largest and most innovative projects in the Americas."
