Ashurst advises banks on 1741 bn toll road financing
01 October 2021
The project, whose main objective is to shift traffic out of the Milan urban area thereby reducing congestion and increasing road safety, includes complementary roads, running through the provinces of Milan, Monza-Brianza and Bergamo in the Lombardy Region (Italy).
The financing of the project, part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), represents one of the largest project financing in the infrastructure sector in Italy.
The consortium of banks comprised Banco BPM S.p.A., Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. (also acting as Transaction Agent and Facility Agent), JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Milan branch), MPS Capital Services Banca per le Imprese S.p.A. and UniCredit S.p.A. along with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. (CDP) and Banca Europea per gli Investimenti (EIB).
The Ashurst cross-border team was led by Milan-based partner Umberto Antonelli, assisted by partner Elena Giuffré and associate Gianluca Di Stefano on the administrative law aspects, senior associate Nicola Toscano and associate Yasmina Tourougou on the drafting and negotiation of the financial documentation and partner Michele Milanese, who advised on the tax aspects. Associate Riccardo Rao and trainee Lorenzo Forleo also advised. The London-based team included partners James Coiley, Kerion Ball and associate Troy Pickard-Taylor on the hedging strategy and partner Adrian Lawrence advised on the intercreditor arrangements.
The team also acted as common legal counsel for EIB and CDP.