Emilio Demetriou-Jones
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in New York and Chilean firm Carey have helped a consortium led by Japanese trading company Sojitz Corporation obtain financing for a solar project in northern Chile.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank and the Iyo Bank were lenders and enlisted four offices of White & Case LLP and Chilean firm Barros & Errázuriz Abogados, which also advised Banco BICE as lender of a VAT facility agreement.
The financing closed on 22 June with no value disclosed.
Sojitz has a 60% stake in the 98-megawatt Huatacondo project, which is located in the northern Tarapacá region. Its partners, Japanese utilities provider Shikoku and French constructor Eiffage, hold 30% and 10% stakes respectively.
The consortium’s acquisition of the plant closed on 14 June, and enlisted the same firms. Oppenhoff & Partner in Cologne advised AustrianSolar Chile as sellers on the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) contracts, while Bofill Mir & Álvarez Jana advised AustrianSolar on regulatory issues.
Commercial operations on the plant are expected to begin in August 2018. The electricity produced will be sold on the Chilean wholesale market.
There has been a notable increase in foreign interest in the Chile’s photovoltaic sector, following the government’s announcement in 2015 that it planned to source 70% of its power needs from renewables by 2050.
For the project financing
Counsel to the consortium
In-house counsel – Arthur Calzontzi
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Partner Nick Politan, of counsel Jessica Basil and associates Nicole Kim and Candis Davis
in New York
Carey
Partner Felipe Moro and associates Fernando Noriega, Patricia Montt, Diego Lasagna, Valentina Vizcay, José Tomás Hurley, Arturo Poblete, Francisco Urcelay and Valentina Mendozain Santiago
Counsel to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank and Iyo Bank
White & Case LLP
Partner Carlos Viana and associates Thomas Pate, Sean Williams, Adrian Leal and Benjamin Novoa in Miami; partner Ian Cuillerier and associates Elizabeth Martinez, Ray Simon, Shea Thompson, John Donaleski, Julia Bell and Alexandra Arizmendi in New York; partner Paule Biensan and associate Marianna Sédéfian in Paris; and partner Toshio Dokei and associate Shusuke Fukunaga in Tokyo
Barros & Errázuriz
Partner Francisco de la Barra and associates Cristóbal Pellegrini, Enrique Barros, Pedro Pablo Ballivian, Mara Angelini, Camila May, María de los Ángeles Purcell, Valentina Villalobos, Francisca Ellis, Jean Petit and Martin Vial in Santiago
Counsel to BICE
Barros & Errázuriz
Partner Francisco de la Barra and associates Cristóbal Pellegrini, Enrique Barros, Pedro Pablo Ballivian, Mara Angelini, Camila May, María de los Ángeles Purcell, Valentina Villalobos, Francisca Ellis, Jean Petit and Martin Vial in Santiago
For the consortium’s acquisition
Counsel to the consortium
In-house counsel – Arthur Calzontzi
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Of counsel Jessica Basil in New York
Carey
Partner Juan Francisco Mackenna and associates José Tomás Hurley, Arturo Poblete, Francisco Urcelay and Valentina Mendoza in Santiago
Counsel to AustrianSolar Chile
Oppenhoff & Partner
Chilean attorney Edder Cifuentes, and partners Alf Baars, Peter Etzbach and Christof Gaudig in Cologne
Bofill Mir & Álvarez Jana Abogados
Partners Octavio Bofill and Guillermo de la Jara in Santiago
