As the NSW Government prepares to lease out its desalination plant, in a considerably tight timeframe, the Sydney desalination is the largest privatisation in NSW history.
Gilbert + Tobin advised the winning consortium’s 11 financiers including all four major domestic banks, an export credit agency and a range of international banks.
The winning bidder, the Hastings-Ontario consortium (the Consortium), is made up of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Hastings managed infrastructure funds, Utilities Trust of Australia and The Infrastructure Fund.
The team from Gilbert + Tobin was led by partners John Schembri and Alexander Danne from a project finance and acquisition perspective, and supported by lawyers Katherine Best, Adela Smith, Daniel Yim, Catherine Zahra, Abigail Haseltine and Angela McDonald.
John Schembri led the overall transaction and principally advised the Banks on the finance and security documentation. Alexander Danne supported John and principally advised the Banks on the project and state specific documentation.
“This is a strategically important transaction for the state of NSW. In a very short period of time the Consortium, together with its financiers negotiated and finalised a significant and impressive committed debt package to support their winning bid.” said leading partner, John Schembri. “We are honoured to have represented the financiers and to be working with the Consortium on this important market-leading, infrastructure transaction. We look forward to providing a smooth and efficient financial close process for the State, the financiers and their Consortium partners.”
The speedy transaction process was not without its challenges. The team at Gilbert + Tobin was able to overcome a number of complexities including the regulatory risks relating to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, licensing under the Water Industry Competition Act 2006 (NSW) and the regime under the Essential Services Act 1988 (NSW).
“From an operational perspective, the established risk profile and operational history of the asset contributed solid support for a strong bank case. Both the Consortium and their financiers were required to evaluate and work closely with the State’s requirements on a range of specific factors. This included independent regulatory pricing regime factors, and the need to support the State’s critical objective of ensuring future water supply security for NSW.” said partner, Alexander Danne.
Related Posts:
- None Found