The international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP, led by Global Project Finance co-chair Eric Silverman and Head of Asia Global Project Finance Gary Wigmore, represented Toyota Tsusho Corp. (Toyota Tsusho) and Chubu Electric Power Co. (Chubu) in the acquisition of the majority stake in the 880-MW Goreway Station (Goreway), a natural gas-fired combined cycle electricity generating facility in Ontario, Canada, held by Sithe Global Power (Sithe). Prior to the acquisition, Toyota Tsusho and Chubu were minority stakeholders in the power facility, holding 25% interest each. With the acquisition, Toyota Tsusho and Chubu will become the sole owners of the project with 50% interest each and will take over the project’s 20-year power purchase agreement with the Ontario Power Authority. Milbank’s team was supported by lawyers in New York and Tokyo, including associate Daniel Lin.
“This acquisition reflects Chubu and Toyota Tsusho’s commitment to being a key contributor to North America’s natural gas-fired power generation market,” commented Eric Silverman.
“There is increased interest in North American power assets from Asian buyers,” noted Gary Wigmore.
Sithe, backed by The Blackstone Group, financed construction of Goreway in 2006. The plant became operational in 2009 and is capable of providing electricity into Ontario’s power grid around the clock but only operates during intermediate and peak demand periods. The project’s existing debt financing arrangements are unaffected by the transaction.
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