Earlier this year, Ashurst received the “Finance Deal of the Year” award at the Legal Community Finance & Tax Awards held in Milan.
Ashurst has advised Natixis and the other bank and bond financiers on the first project bond in Italy and a landmark debt refinancing of Antin Solar Investments, a leading Italian solar PV portfolio.
This transaction, which is the first of its kind in Italy, comprises an innovative debt package which merges features of a banking facility with those of a bond issue. Natixis acted as sole arranger of the entire financial package (bond and loans), sole bookrunner, sole underwriter, transaction agent, facility agent and sole hedging bank. The deal was successfully distributed to international and domestic institutional investors and banks. It is the first project bond in Italy and one of the first secured hybrid transactions in the European renewable sector.
Antin Solar Investments, owned by Antin Infrastructure Partners, will use the proceeds from the refinancing to incorporate seven solar photovoltaic plants under one umbrella structure, whereas previously the plants were financed on an individual basis.
The project bond and the project finance loan are both non-recourse senior secured, unwrapped and unrated for an amount of circa Eur 165. The bond is listed on the segment “ExtraMOT pro” of Borsa Italiana and it is structured as a dual tranche, with both a fixed tranche and floating tranche. The project bond and the project finance loan have a maturity of 14 years. The financial package leveraged on new Italian regulation covering project bonds, which provide tax benefits and security advantages to investors. The arrangement also includes a liquidity facility and a VAT facility.
The transaction was led by GPFG member and energy and infrastructure partner Carloandrea Meacci. London-based GPFG member and DCM partner Derwin Jenkinson was also involved.
