White & Case advised on six deals globally that won 2018 PFI Awards, as announced by Project Finance International (PFI) magazine. PFI Awards winners are selected by the PFI editorial staff from among submissions made by companies engaged in the transactions. The awards will be formally presented at a ceremony in London on February 6, 2019.
The winning deals on which White & Case advised were:
Americas
P3 Deal of the Year – LAX APM
White & Case represented the LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) consortium on the groundbreaking Automated People Mover (APM) project for the Los Angeles Airport (LAX). The project marks the largest-ever contract awarded by Los Angeles and is the first P3 project implemented by Los Angeles World Airports. PFI called the deal "a complex and groundbreaking public-private partnership."
LatAm Power Deal of the Year – Sergipe
White & Case represented Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Inter-American Investment Corp., International Finance Corp. and Swiss Export Risk Insurance on the structuring of the financing for the design, construction and operation of Centrais Elétricas de Sergipe S.A. (CELSE), the project company's 1,516 MW thermoelectric power plant and related liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and gas transportation infrastructure in Brazil. At approximately BRL 5 billion (US$1.8 billion), it was the largest LNG-to-power financing in Latin America to date.
Europe
Telecomms Deal of the Year – Open Fiber
White & Case represented Open Fiber S.p.A., an Italian company which installs, supplies and services fibre optic high speed electronic networks across Italy, on its €3.5 billion financing. The deal is the largest ever financing for a fibre optic network in the EMEA region.
Middle East and Africa
African PetChem Deal of the Year – Eleme
White & Case represented International Finance Corp. and a syndicate of around 20 development financial institutions and commercial lenders on the financing of the US$1 billion expansion of a world-scale urea fertilizer production facility near Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This new financing will enable Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemical Nigeria Ltd. to double the capacity of the existing facility from 1.4 million tons per year to 2.8 million tons, moving production further into the international export market and making it the world's largest single train urea fertilizer plant. "The Indorama Eleme Complex has been a success story of public-private partnerships in Nigeria," according to PFI.
Oil & Gas Deal of the Year – Energean
White & Case represented Energean Oil & Gas plc, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on the eastern Mediterranean, on its initial public offering on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Energean received around £330 million (US$460 million) in gross proceeds from the global offering, the principal use of which will be to develop the Karish and Tanin gas fields. White & Case also advised Energean on the US$1.275 billion senior credit facility led by Morgan Stanley, Natixis, Bank Hapoalim and Société Générale as mandated lead arrangers, which is the primary source of funding for the development of the Karish field over the next three years.
Asia-Pacific
Solar Deal of the Year – Sunraysia PV
White & Case represented John Laing Group on its purchase of the 255 MW Suraysia Solar Farm from Maoneng Group. The asset was purchased to coincide with financial close and commencement of construction. The Sunraysia Solar Farm was the largest solar farm to commence construction in Australia during 2018, and upon completion will be one of the largest in the world. PFI called the Sunraysia transaction "a carefully choreographed completion for a simultaneous equity investment, land acquisition and debt close."