Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises AVR-Afvalverwerking B.V. on establishment of €400,000,000 Structured Secured Corporate Debt Issuance Platform

International law firm Clifford Chance has advised the leading Dutch energy-from-waste and water treatment facility operator AVR-Afvalverwerking B.V. on the establishment of a structured secured debt issuance platform pursuant to which AVR has raised €130,000,000 of senior term and revolving credit facilities from its relationship lenders, US$75,000,000, £16,000,000 and €197,000,000 of US private placement notes and €23,000,000 of institutional term debt by way of a European private placement. The senior debt has been rated BBB+ by Fitch and is supported by a 5-year dedicated liquidity facility.

The deal has provided AVR with deep access to the well established US and burgeoning European Private Placement markets, and demonstrates that the structuring and legal technology that has been successfully employed for a large number of UK utility and infrastructure businesses can be successfully exported to Europe despite the differing legal regimes and generally less creditor-friendly insolvency regimes.

Clifford Chance has advised on the majority of structured secured debt issuance platforms in the utility, infrastructure and corporate sectors, including Thames Water, Arqiva, ABP, Peel Ports and the AA.

The London team was led by structured debt partner Steve Curtis and senior associate Amer Siddiqui. London banking partner James Boswell and senior associate Alexandra Dimsdale-Gill also assisted. The Amsterdam team was led by banking and finance partner Bas Boris Visser and counsel Robert Masman.