Further solidifying its position as the leading energy and infrastructure advisor globally, Milbank LLP received ten “Deal of the Year” awards and was named the “Latin America Legal Advisor of the Year” in the special Global Awards Edition by IJGlobal. Milbank was also shortlisted for “Legal Advisor of the Year” in North America, Middle East & North Africa and Asia Pacific.
The IJGlobal Awards recognize leading firms and notable transactions across the region in the infrastructure and energy sectors. Winners are selected based on input from the publication and peer firms in each sector and region.
Dan Bartfeld, practice group leader of the firm’s Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group, noted: “It is a testament to our commitment to the region to once again be honored by IJGlobal as the leading legal advisor in Latin America, as well as lead counsel on ten global “Deal of the Year” transactions. Our team advised on high-profile and very significant mandates across a wide range of M&A, project development and financing matters in the global energy and infrastructure market. We are very appreciative that our clients turn to us for their most significant and complex matters.”
Milbank transactions were honored in the following categories:
- Latin America Export Finance Deal of the Year – GNA 1 Port of Acu: Milbank advised the sponsors in connection with the development and financing of a major LNG-to-Power project at Açu Port in São João da Barra, Brazil. The financing will be used for phase 1 of the project, consisting of the development and construction of a 1,338MW thermoelectric plant, an LNG import and regasification terminal, and a substation and transmission line connecting the plant to the national grid. This project is part of the largest natural gas thermoelectric complex in Latin America.
- Latin America Petrochemicals Deal of the Year – Braskem Idesa: Milbank advised the underwriters in connection with the $900 million debut project bond offering for the refinancing of Mexico-based polyethylene producer Braskem Idesa, S.A.P.I.’s project financing.
- Latin America Transmission Deal of the Year – CRC Transmission: Milbank advised Allianz in connection with a US private placement to finance a portfolio of transmission lines in Chile. The portfolio of transmission projects totals more than 550km of transmission lines and eight substations.
- North America Mining Deal of the Year – Nevada Copper’s Pumpkin Hollow: Milbank advised KfW IPEX-Bank and Euler Hermes in connection with the financing for the greenfield Pumpkin Hollow Copper Project in Nevada sponsored by Pala investments. This is the only major, shovel-ready and fully-permitted copper project in North America that is currently under construction.
- North America Midstream O&G Deal of the Year – Midship Pipeline: Milbank advised the lenders in connection with the financing for the development and construction of the Midship Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline located in Oklahoma with a nominal transportation capacity of at least 1.10 billion cubic feet per day.
- North America Solar Deal of the Year – Recurrent Energy Module Safe Harbor Loan: Milbank advised the lenders in connection with the loan to be used by Recurrent Energy to purchase and safe harbor around 500MW of solar modules before the end of 2019.
- North America Renewables Deal of the Year – Cypress Creek Portfolio Financing: Milbank advised the lenders in connection with the financings for three solar energy projects in South Carolina and Texas being developed by Cypress Creek Renewables and sponsored by Cubico Sustainable Investments.
- Middle East & North Africa M&A Deal of the Year – Project Beyond: Milbank advised BlackRock and KKR on their landmark partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in connection with a $4 billion midstream pipeline infrastructure agreement. The agreement forms a new entity called ADNOC Oil Pipelines, with BlackRock and KKR acquiring a 40% stake and ADNOC retaining a 60% majority stake.
- Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Deal of the Year – Jambaran-Tiung Biru: Milbank advised the Commercial Lenders, Islamic Investors, Hedge Banks and their respective agents in connection with the financing of the Jambaran Tiung Biru (JTB) gas field unitization project for PT Pertamina EP Cepu (PEPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of PT Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, the country’s largest state-owned entity and one of its largest crude oil producers.
- Asia Pacific Petrochemicals Deal of the Year – RAPID: Milbank advised the lenders in connection with the landmark financing for the development of a new refinery and petrochemical integrated project (RAPID) and other associated facilities in Southern Johor, Malaysia.
The practice was also recently recognized by Project Finance International for its role in six project finance transactions in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, including in renewables, oil & gas and power generation, by IFLR as the Asia-Pacific “Project Finance Team of the Year,” by TXF Perfect 10 for its role in three infrastructure transactions across Asia and Latin America and by Chambers as “Indonesia International Firm of the Year” for its role on a number of significant project financings in the country.
Milbank has one of the largest project, energy and infrastructure groups in the world with over 125 dedicated lawyers in its offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia. In the past five years, the firm has acted as the lead legal advisor in a wide variety of power, energy, oil/gas, natural resources and other infrastructure projects worldwide that mobilized hundreds of billions of dollars of capital.
