Chinalco USD 21 billion facilities
We acted for Chinalco in the provision of USD 21 billion facilities to Chinalco and its subsidiaries by China Development Bank Limited. We assisted Chinalco secure committed financing for its acquisition of, and future working capital for, its strategic alliance interests in Rio Tinto’s iron ore, aluminium and copper projects/assets at Hamersley, Weipa, Boyne/ Gladstone power station, Escondida, Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation, Grasberg, La Granja and the Yarwun refinery. Part of the facilities will also fund the acquisition of convertible bonds in Rio Tinto.
Financing of Masbate Gold Project
Awarded Asia Pacific Mining Deal of the Year Award, Euromoney League Tables, Feb 2009.
We acted for BNP Paribas to fund the development and operation of the Masbate Gold Mine in a remote area of the Philippines. This was only the second project financed mine in the Philippines for some 20 years (Mallesons also acted in the first).
Royal North Shore Hospital and Community Health Services PPP
We acted for ABN AMRO and Thiess as sponsors on their successful bid and closing of the Royal North Shore Hospital PPP. This transaction is a stand out transaction as it closed with a complex and large scale funding in the midst of the difficult market times, with no comparable deals in the region.
Privatisation of Masinloc coal-fired thermal plant
We acted for AES Corporation in its successful bid for, and US$1.1 billion financing of, the Masinloc Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant located in the Philippines.This was the largest of the new privatisations of the electricity industry in the Philippines being conducted by the Government at the time and involved multi lateral lenders and equity structuring across a number of international jurisdictions.
Sale of Assets
We advised the Energy Infrastructure Investments group on its spin out from the Australian Pipelines group and restructuring of its assets, together with the portfolio financing of the transaction. Novel structuring techniques were employed to ensure the equity investors into the fund receive an annuity-style return as well various structured financing solutions to maximise debt sizing.
Working Capital Facility Agreement - Westpac
We acted for Spark Infrastructure (Victoria) Pty Limited (Spark) in the provision of a A$50,000,000 working capital facility to Spark by Westpac Banking Corporation. The facility was guaranteed by other members of the Spark group. As Mallesons had acted for the senior financing in the 2005 IPO of Spark (which also involved the provision of a working capital facility), we were well placed to coordinate the preparation of this additional working capital facility in a short timeframe.
Macquarie Infrastructure Investment Management Limited
We acted for Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) in this $805 Million deal on the sale of it's 50% share in West Link to Western Sydney Roads Group. Western Sydney Roads group is 50% owned by Macquarie Infrastructure Investment Group and 50% owned by Queensland Investment Corp.
Financing of Van Gogh and Pyrenees oilfield developments
We acted for BNP Paribas and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, to fund Apache PVG Pty Ltd’s share of the development and operation of the Van Gogh and Pyrenees oilfield developments on the North West Shelf. The financing structure and documentation enabled the Apache group to obtain project financing for those of its North West Shelf assets which were ready for development but at the same time allowing the Apache group the flexibility to deal with its other assets despite them all being intrinsically connected.
Capital Expenditure facility for Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline - Stage 5B Expansion
We advised DBNGP on the financing for the fifth expansion of the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline. We were actively involved in structuring the transaction and advising in connection with project issues such as tariff charges and project documentation. A fully integrated team, drawing on a broad range of expertise from our Banking and Finance teams across our Melbourne and Perth offices, was able to provide seamless service to our clients on a variety of infrastructure project finance matters.
The Khandke Wind Farm Financing
We advised a syndicate of banks, including the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, HSBC Bank (Mauritius) Limited, Intesa Sanpaolo, S.p.A, Nedbank Limited and Nordeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, on the non-recourse project financing to Roaring 40s for the construction and commissioning of 50.4MW wind farm located at Khandke in the State of Maharashtra, India. This transaction was the first non-recourse project financing of a wind farm undertaken in India.
Construction Finance Facility for Singapore Biodiesel Plant
We acted as Australian and English counsel to an international hedge fund in connection with the proposed financing of the construction and commissioning of the world’s largest biodiesel plant on Jurong Island in Singapore. The transaction was complicated by the need to restructure existing convertible bonds which were listed on the Stock Exchange of Singapore and the issue of options over securities listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
South Australian Schools PPP
We acted for Pinnacle Education SA Consortium (that included Commonwealth Bank Investments and Hansen & Yuncken) in its bid for the Education Works New Schools Project that was put to tender by the South Australian Government. The project was a public private partnership involving the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of a number of new schools situated in around Adelaide in South Australia. Mallesons advised the consortium in relation to all aspects of the complex project arrangements.
QSN Link Expansion for Epic Energy Australia
We acted for Epic Energy in relation to the construction of the Queensland to South Australia/New South Wales natural gas pipeline linking the South West Queensland Pipeline to the Moomba to Adelaide Gas Pipeline.
Syndicated Project Financing of Bluewaters Power Stations
We advised a syndicate of banks, including ANZ, NAB, Société Générale Australia Branch and WestLB AG, Sydney Branch, on the non-recourse A$1.26 billion project financing to subsidiaries of Griffin Coal for the construction and development of two coal-fired 204MW power stations situated near the Collie Township in Western Australia.
After the sponsors’ decision to expand the initial project (which Mallesons had earlier assisted the Banks with) to accommodate further power stations, Mallesons’ role involved advising the Banks in relation to adapting the existing funding structure to accommodate the expansion of the Project, and to provide for equity bridge and construction funding for the additional
Barwon Water Biosolids PPP Management Project
We acted for The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi as the financier and the swap provider to the consortium led by Plenary Group in its successful bid for the Barwon Water Biosolids Management Project which was put out to tender by the Victorian Government. The project was a public private partnership involving the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of a biosolids treatment plant located at Black Rock in Victoria.
Melbourne Desalination Plant PPP
We acted for the financiers to one of the two bidders for the Victorian desalination PPP project. The Victorian desalination project comprises the design, build, financing, operation and maintenance of the world’s largest reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant. In light of the current economic environment and the size of the project, Mallesons team advised on the introduction of a number of innovative structures and financing solutions not previously seen in Australian PPPs.
Broadcast Australia Finance $250m debt refinancing
We advised Broadcast Australia on the refinancing of its capital markets and bank debt facilities. This involved the refinancing and extension of the existing senior facilities as well as the raising of new bank debt facilities to finance a maturing tranche of Medium Term Notes. The Mallesons team worked to ensure that the new senior debt arrangements, were effective in meeting Broadcast Australia's ongoing financing needs and fit into its existing financing .