Suzanne Perry

Partner, Washington, DC

Biography

“Suzanne is spectacular.”
Chambers USA, Projects: Agency Financing, 2023

Overview

Suzanne Perry is a partner in the Energy, Infrastructure, Project, and Asset Finance Practice based in the Washington office. She co-leads our Agency Finance practice in the Americas and has more than 20 years of experience spanning cross-border project finance, corporate finance and securities transactions, with a particular focus on energy and infrastructure finance. She regularly represents export credit agencies, bilateral and multilateral development finance institutions in major transactions.

Suzanne joined White & Case from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, now known as the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), where she was responsible for legal services in connection with a portfolio of loans in excess of US$2 billion.

Earlier in her career, she advised on investments across Latin America, as Chief Counsel for Darby Overseas Investment Limited, a private funds manager that was part of the Franklin Templeton group. Prior to joining Darby, she handled prominent transactions at leading international law firms and completed a clerkship at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Bars and Courts
New York
District of Columbia Bar
Education
Juris Doctor
Yale Law School
Bachelor of Arts
Cornell University
Master of Laws
European University Institute
Latin American Private Equity Executive Program, Wharton/LAVCA Executive Education
Languages
English
Spanish
Italian
French

Experience

Mendubim Solar
Representation of IDB Invest on the limited recourse project financing for the Mendubim solar project in the municipality of Assú, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. The loan provides $130 million with an 18.5-year tenor to Mendubim Geração de Energia S.A., an affiliate of Equinor New Energy AS, Hydro REIN AS and Scatec ASA. The loan will finance the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of 13 photovoltaic plants with a combined capacity of 531 MWp (452 MWac), as well as a six-kilometer transmission line and other interconnection facilities located in the municipality of Assú in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The loan benefits from risk participations from commercial banks. This transaction was named "Renewable Energy Financing of the Year" by Latin Finance 2023.

Ma'an Solar
Representation of DEG and EBRD in connection with the Ma'an Solar Project in the Kingdom of Jordan.

Platanares Geothermal
Representation of DFC in connection with a US$135 million loan to Geotérmica Platanares S.A. de C.V. This project is the first utility scale geothermal power plant in Honduras and was developed by Ormat Technologies Inc.

Kipeto Wind
Representation of DFC in connection with a US$232 million loan supporting Kipeto Energy Limited's 100 MW wind farm in Kenya. This project was developed by GE, the IFC, African Infrastructure Investment Managers and Craftskills Wind Energy and is majority owned by Actis energy funds.

ONEX Shipyards
Representation of DFC in connection with a proposed loan of up to US$125 million for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Elefsina shipyard. The project's servicing of LNG ships makes it a prominent initiative under the European Energy Security and Diversification Act of 2019. Upon completion, Elefsina is expected to become Greece's busiest and most efficient shipyards, with capacity to repair and upgrade up to 200 ships per annum.

Mozambique LNG
Representation of the financiers (including the Export Import Bank of the United States on its US$4.7 billion direct lending facility) on the US$20 billion project financing Mozambique LNG. The project is the largest-ever foreign direct investment into Africa and was awarded "Global Multilateral Deal of the Year" by PFI 2020.

Barbados Port
Representation of IDB Invest in connection with a US$70 million corporate loan to Barbados Port Inc. to capital expenditures for the modernization of its operations. This deal represents the first IDB Invest financing for infrastructure in Barbados and supports the purchase and installation of a Waste to Energy system consisting of a wet-dry incinerator and a steam rankine cycle turbine, the purchase and installation of up to 1.5 megawatts of additional rooftop photovoltaic solar capacity and repairs and upgrades to the port's berths.

Disi Water

Representation of DFC, Proparco and EIB in connection with the US$1 billion Disi Water Project in the Kingdom of Jordan.

PSN VI Satellite
Representation of Export Development Canada on the successful restructuring and repayment in full of its US$230 million limited recourse financing for the PSN VI Satellite Project in Indonesia.

Aspen Healthcare
Representation of IFC, Proparco, DEG and DFC on a €600 million loan facility for Aspen Pharmacare's sterile injectables facility at Gqeberha in South Africa and its anesthetics emerging markets portfolio.

China Fisheries of Peru
Representation of the Ad Hoc Committee of creditors to the China Fisheries Group, a leading fisheries company in Peru, in connection with debt facilities supporting a plan for emergence from Chapter 11 proceedings.

Gilcrease Expressway
Representation of US DOT on the US$120 million secured loan for the development and construction of the Gilcrease Expressway West Project in Oklahoma. The project was awarded "US Project Finance Deal of the Year" by IFLR 2021.

Syrah Vidalia
Representation of Syrah Technologies and Syrah Resources in connection with a US$102 million loan under the DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan program. Syrah Resources is an industrial minerals and technology company headquartered in Australia, which owns a globally significant graphite mine in Mozambique. The on-project will provide a domestic, environmentally responsible and cost competitive supply chain for this critical mineral to accelerate the deployment of batteries to power electric vehicles in the United States.

Financial Inclusion and SME finance
Representation of development finance institutions in connection with multiple high-impact financial inclusion projects, including advising DFC in connection with projects in Paraguay, India, Nigeria, and Indonesia to expand on-lending to underserved small enterprises and advising IDB Invest in connection with blended finance for small businesses implementing climate resilience programs in the Caribbean.

Speaking Engagements

CCUS in the US and Abroad: Policy Enablement of Net Zero Objectives, AIEN Chapter Event, Washington, DC, October 18, 2023

DC-Based Agency Finance Products – An Update, Client Webinar, October 18, 2023

Working with US Deparatment of Energy to Finance the Energy Transition, White & Case Annual Energy Seminar, New York, October 12, 2023

Unlocking New Opportunities with ECAs, Export Credit Americas, New York, October 2, 2023

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022: US Department of Energy Grants & Loans, White & Case Webinar, September 20, 2023

Innovations in Blended Finance, Client Webinar, July 2023

Designing and Implementing Successful Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), Workshop led with International Senior Lawyers Program, Universidad de los Hemisferios and Counterpart International, with Support from USAID, Quito, Ecuador, September 2022

Regulatory Reactions to Changing Energy Landscape, Global Energy Horizons Summit, Washington, DC, July 2019

Resilience and Sustainability in Infrastructure Projects, IDB Invest Sustainability Week, Panama, June 2019

Publications

Co-author, Africa's Digital Transformation, Africa Focus: Summer 2022

Co-author, US Finance Agencies in Africa, Africa Focus: Autumn 2021

Awards and Recognition

Band 1, Chambers USA, Projects: Agency Financing, 2023