International law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP represented State Grid International Development Ltd. (SGIDL) in its US$1.8 billion acquisition of seven power transmission projects in Brazil from four Spanish EPC companies. The deal became the biggest completed Chinese investment in Brazil when it closed in December. The purchase is the largest Chinese acquisition of power transmission assets outside China and the first time that a Chinese company has acquired full control of a foreign electricity grid asset.
SGIDL is the international arm of State Grid, one of China’s largest companies, and the transaction is reported to account for an estimated 20 percent of China’s investment in Brazil in 2010. SGIDL purchased the projects from Elecnor, S.A., Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios S.A. and Grupo Isolux Corsán, S.A. and Abengoa S.A. Elecnor separately bought an eighth transmission line from the other sellers for a further US$200 million.
Milbank led complex and protracted negotiations for State Grid in Beijing, Hong Kong, Madrid and Sao Paulo. Partners on the deal were Dan Bartfeld, partner in Milbank’s New York office, and Anthony Root, managing partner of Milbank’s Hong Kong and Beijing offices, with support from associates Cecilia Ma and Sarah Tian in Beijing.
“The transaction reflects the significant increase in financing and investment by China in Latin America’s energy, natural resource and infrastructure sectors,” said Mr Root. “The opening of Milbank’s Sao Paulo office last year is part of a strategic move to focus on increased participation in these flows.”
Related Posts:
- None Found