David Thomas

Primary Focus & Experience

David has experience advising lenders, funds, sponsors, and borrowers, on a wide range of finance transactions, with experience primarily in project development and finance. David has practiced across a range of sectors including renewable and conventional power, energy transition and mining.

Prior to joining Milbank, David was a solicitor at an international law firm, where he represented clients in Australia and Asia on various project finance transactions.

David’s experience includes advising:

• Enfinity Global Inc, as sponsor, in connection with the €500 million HoldCo financing of its portfolio of solar panel projects in Italy. The facility includes an accordion tranche which allows the entire financing to be increased up to €800 million, making it one of the largest financings of its type in the European market.
• TotalEnergies and various of its joint venture counterparts on a large number of covered loan arrangements across multiple geographies and sectors including various renewables projects.
• EIG on the issuance of two tranches of private holdco notes (aggregating up to EUR 450 million) by Aukera BV, a Belgian holding company which will invest the proceeds of the notes in equity and/or shareholder loans to fund the development and construction of solar PV projects in the UK, Romania, and Italy.
• EIG on a €300 million holdco facility to Nordic Solar with the proceeds to be used for the construction of certain solar parks in Europe and for the acquisition of new project rights.
• the EIB, Euler Hermes, KEXIM, K-sure, NEXI, Riksgalden and a group of commercial bank lenders in connection with the $5 billion financing for the expansion of Northvolt Ett, an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility and associated recycling facility in Skellefteå, Sweden.
• the finance parties as lead counsel on the financing of the 505 MW Amunet Wind Project in Egypt.
• BNPP, CA-CIB, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in connection with the USD800m acquisition financing of two vessels by Energos (a joint venture between Apollo and New Fortress Energy) from Dynagas. The vessels are chartered by the German Government.
• the ECAs, DFIs and commercial banks in connection with the US$4.4 billion financing for the Oyu Tolgoi Copper and Gold Mining Project in Mongolia, and most recently the debt reprofiling of this Project.
• Synergy on the project financing of Stage 2 of the Greenough River Solar Farm and Albany Grasmere Wind Farm in Western Australia.*
• Synergy on the project financing of the Warradarge Wind Farm, an 180MW wind farm asset based in Western Australia.*
• West African Resources Ltd on the US$200 million project finance facility from Taurus Mining Finance Fund and Taurus Mining Finance Annex Fund for the construction and development of the Sanbrado Gold Project in Burkina Faso.*
• the lenders on the A$450 million acquisition financing to enable Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited to acquire 50% of the ‘Super Pit’ gold mine from Barrick.*
• IGO Limited on the $1.1 billion syndicated debt facility, used to partially fund its proposed A$1.9 billion acquisition of 49% of Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia, a subsidiary of China’s Tianqi Lithium Corporation that holds a 51% interest in the Greenbushes Lithium Mine — the world’s largest hard rock lithium mine — and a 100% interest in a lithium hydroxide plant, both located in Western Australia.*
• Calidus Resources Limited on its proposed A$110 million debt facility with Macquarie Bank Limited for the construction, development of the Warrawoona Gold Project in WA.
• Carnegie Clean Energy on the financing of its Northam solar farm development and for the development of the Garden Island Micro Grid Project (and for R&D purposes).*
• Clean Energy Finance Corporation on the financing to a syndicate of investors for the solar development of an industrial estate in Western Australia.*