Chris Utting is a finance partner based in London. He has advised borrowers, lenders and investors on cross border financings including project finance, Islamic finance, restructurings, corporate lending and general banking matters in a broad range of sectors such as power, telecommunications, industrials and infrastructure in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He is fluent in English and French.

Representative Transactions

• Representation of WIND Telecomunicazioni and Wind Acquisition Finance S.A. on the refinancing of their $3.9 billion senior credit facilities, including a new €2.7 billion issuance of dual-tranche senior secured bonds by Wind Acquisition Finance S.A.
• Representation of Mobily, a mobile telecoms service provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in connection with a groundbreaking US$2.9 billion Islamic financing facility, based on airtime — a market first with a highly innovative Islamic finance instrument; 
• Representation of the Lenders on 1200 MW Rabigh IPP project in Saudi Arabia (the 2009 Middle Eastern Power Deal of the Year by PFI and Euromoney) (including Islamic finance tranches); 
• Representation of Citibank as mandated lead arranger with respect to the US$4.8 billion guarantee facility and US$2.5 billion Murabaha bridge facility with respect to Zain's acquisition of the third GSM license in Saudi Arabia (as well as its subsequent refinancing); 
• Representation of the senior lenders (including US Exim) with respect to Riyadh PP11, a greenfield 1,730 MW gas-fired independent power project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (including an Islamic finance tranche); 
• Representation of OCI in connection with a €175 million acquisition facility for an Agro, Ammonia and Melamine business; 
• Representation of En+ in its 1.05 billion bank debt restructuring;
• Representation of the Renova Group in a US$350 million club loan from a consortium of seven banks; 
• Representation of Renova Group in various equity based financing arrangements; 
• Representation of Wind Telecom in various consent solicitations in connection with its senior and second lien bank facilities; 
• Representation of Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (Orascom) in connection with a US$2.5 billion Jumbo bank facility as well as its subsequent refinancing; 
• Representation of Wempco in connection with the Naira and USD financing of a steel mill in Nigeria; 
• Representation of a consortium on the project and finance documentation to be submitted in connection with its bid for the proposed MARAFIQ power and water desalination plant in Saudi Arabia;
• Representation of ABC Bank in the debt restructuring of a utility company in Tunisia; 
• Representation of AES as the borrower on the US$436 million financing of the Barka power and water desalination plant in Oman; 
• Representation of AES as the borrower on the US$570 million financing of the Ras Laffan power and water desalination plant in Qatar; 
• Representation of Orascom Telecom and its Canadian subsidiary, Globalive, on a vendor financing of its Canadian network, involving Nokia Siemens networks, Alcatel and Huawei; 
• Representation of AFL in connection with the financing of a steel mill in Nigeria; 
• Representation of Orascom in connection with its US$1.3 billion investment in Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited; 
• Representation of Sheba Telecom (Bangalink) as borrower and Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. as guarantor in a combined BDT (local currency) and USD financing of a GSM telecom operation in Bangladesh, including an ECA (Hermes) tranche as well as onshore and offshore commercial bank facilities; 
• Representation of Weather Investments in a multi tranche ECA financing involving Hermes, Alcatel-Lucent and China Development Bank; 
• Representation of Orascom Telecom in (i) the US$365 million financing for the acquisition of the first private Algerian telecom licence; (ii) the approximately EUR400 million senior debt financing for the roll out of its GSM network in Algeria; and (iii) the equity investment agreements (including convertible note purchase agreements and other arrangements) in connection with Orascom Telecom Algeria (as well as subsequent restructurings and refinancings); 
• Representation of Lusoponte as the borrower in the refinancing of the 25th of April and Vasco da Gama bridges in Lisbon Portugal; 
• Representation of Sorfert Algeria (Sorfert), a 51/49 joint venture between Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Sonatrach, the national oil and gas company of Algeria, in the €1.1 billion financing for the construction of a nitrogen-based fertilizer plant in Algeria; 
• Representation of UNICEM in the US$330 million development and financing of a greenfield cement plant and a 50MW power plant located near the port of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria; 
• Representation of Orascom Construction Industries as Sponsor, and the project company, in the development and financing of both white and grey cement projects in Algeria as well as a cement project in Iraq; 
• Representation of the lenders (ABC Bank and Banque Belgolaise) in an upstream borrowing base oil and gas facility for M.P. Zarat in connection with a Tunisian oilfield; 
• Representation of the lenders (ABC Bank) in a senior secured oil and gas reserve based facility for PA Resources in Tunisia; 
• Representation of the subordinated lenders with respect to the US$800 million project financing of a chemical plant in Raswa, Port Said Egypt; and 
• Representation of the borrower, Tunisiana, in the senior debt financing for the payment of the second instalment of the licence fee payment and the roll out of its GSM network in Tunisia (as well as the subsequent refinancing).

Bars and Courts
England and Wales, 1999
New York State Bar, 1997

Education
LLB and BCL, McGill University Faculty of Law, Montreal, 1996
BA, University of Toronto, 1992

Languages
English
French

Citizenship
Canada
United Kingdom