Canadian Energy Developer Honored By Project Finance Magazine As North America Public Power Deal Of The Year
New York – Project Finance magazine has honored Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP for its work on a C$479 million financing for energy company Invenergy's St. Clair Energy Centre project. The transaction was named Project Finance's North America Public Power Deal of the Year and will be highlighted in the magazine's February issue, as the sponsor's PPA and construction counsel. The recognition is the latest for Thelen's Project Development and Finance practice within the energy field, and the third time since 2006 that the law firm has been featured in Project Finance's annual Deals of the Year edition. The magazine also honored the law firms of Blake, Cassels & Graydon and Dewey & LeBoeuf as Canadian counsel and U.S. financing counsel to the sponsor, respectively, for their work on the Invenergy/St. Clair deal.
Invenergy Development Company LLC's St. Clair Energy Centre is a 584-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant located in St. Clair Township near Sarnia, Ontario. Thelen represented Invenergy, a joint venture between Invenergy Thermal LLC and Stark Investments. The successful September 2007 closing of the project financing was achieved though a syndicated loan. The group of lenders was comprised of 12 international financial institutions, including: Royal Bank of Canada, Helaba, Allied Irish Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyd's TSB, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Nord LB, General Electric Capital Corp., Union Bank of California, Bayern LB, Mizuho, and Natixis.
"We're very pleased to see that our work in helping the Ontario government achieve new electricity generation capacity has been honored by the leading project finance publication," said Ellen S. Friedman, a finance partner in Thelen's New York office, who headed the transaction team, which included Thelen attorneys Lee M. Goodwin, who advised the sponsor in connection with contractual arrangements with the Ontario Power Authority, and Garrett K. Smith, who worked on the complex construction arrangements for the project. "The successful syndication of the project helps to continue the province's plan of replacing coal-fired generation and ultimately, improving Ontario's air quality," said Ms. Friedman.
The financing for Invenergy/St. Clair was also notable as it was completed without an underwriting, Ms. Friedman noted. "The deal was closed successfully and the commitments made by this international cast of lenders resulted in oversubscription - despite tightening global credit conditions and less-than-optimum market conditions," she said.
Thelen has been honored previously by Project Finance for its advisory role in the Army Hawaii Family Housing and Crockett Cogeneration Projects. Both transactions were named "Deals of the Year" by Project Finance in 2006.
"It's a pleasure to see Ellen's hard work on Invenergy St. Clair honored, and this serves a testament to Thelen's strong practice in project development and financing," said managing partner Douglas Davidson, who co-chairs Thelen's Corporate and Securities practice.
"Ellen's expertise in advising energy companies is worthy of recognition. Such large-scale power financings are some of the more complex transactions, especially given the span of financial institutions involved. It's an honor for the firm to be cited by Project Finance for the third time in the past two years for its role in one of the magazine's top deals of the year," Mr. Davidson added.
The Invenergy/ St. Clair project's output will be marketed under a 20-year Clean Energy Supply Contract with the Ontario Power Authority. Invenergy commenced the project following a successful bid made to the Ontario Ministry of Energy during the agency's June 2004 request for proposals to bring on-line a total of 2,500 megawatts of new, cleaner power in Ontario.
For more about Project Finance magazine's Deal of the Year Award go to: www.projectfinancemagazine.com.
SOURCE: Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP