Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance voted Infrastructure Law Firm of the Year in Europe and in Latin America

International law firm Clifford Chance is pleased to announce that it has won two PEI Infrastructure Investor Awards for 2013 – Infrastructure Law Firm of the Year in Europe and Infrastructure Law Firm of the Year in Latin America. These awards are given based on votes cast by readers of PEI Infrastructure Investor.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the firm has won the European title and the first time it has won the award for Latin America.

Brendan Moylan, partner and global head of infrastructure M&A, comments: "We are delighted to have won these awards and to be recognised by our clients and peers for our infrastructure expertise across Europe and Latin America. Our success is a direct result of our continuing commitment to clients and reflects our understanding of the infrastructure sector and the issues that matter to investors in infrastructure. It is further evidence of the quality of our team around the globe."

Clifford Chance worked on a number of high profile infrastructure transactions during 2013 including advising:

• Abertis Infraestructuras S.A. on a series of disposals that included all of the airports in the TBI airport portfolio, including Luton, Cardiff, Belfast and Stockholm
• KKR on the acquisition of South Staffordshire Water and Cambridge Water from Alinda Capital Partners
• American Tower Corporation on the acquisition of a wireless communication sites portfolio from German mobile operator E-Plus, a subsidiary of Dutch operator KPN
• The lenders on the financing for the acquisition by a consortium led by Borealis and First State of Fortum’s Finnish electricity distribution business. Separate teams also advised one of the under-bidders and the lenders to another under-bidder
• Axa Private Equity on its acquisition of a 23.48% stake in Enovos from ArcelorMittal
• On seven wind power projects in Uruguay awarded by UTE. The most high-profile of which are:
  • Advising Banco Santander, BROU and EKF in connection with the financing of the 90MW Luz del Mar wind park in Uruguay, which is being developed by COFUSA using turbines supplied by Vestas
  • Advising IDB and US Ex-Im Bank in connection with the financing of the 50 MW Palmatir wind project in Uruguay, which is being developed by Abengoa using turbines supplied by Gamesa 
• IDB, IFC and five syndicate banks on the financing for the 305.5 mega-watt hydroelectric power project on the Reventazón River, which is sponsored by Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, the state-owned utility of Costa Rica
• IDB and a group of commercial banks in respect of the financing of the US$1.2 billion Chaglla hydroelectric project in Peru, which is being developed by Odebrecht. This transaction was awarded "Latin American Renewables Deal of the Year 2013" by Project Finance International, "Deal of the Year 2013" by Trade Finance Magazine, and "Hydroelectric Deal of the Year" for the Project Finance Deal of the Year Awards 2013 by World Finance. It has been nominated by Infrastructure Journal as "Global Deal of the Year – Power" and by IFLR as "Project Finance Deal of the Year" for 2013

For more information on Clifford Chance's infrastructure practice, please see http://www.cliffordchance.com/content/cliffordchance/expertise/sectors/private_equity/infrastructure_fund_transactions.html