Watson, Farley & Williams, a leading international law firm, is pleased to announce that it has advised the initial mandated lead arrangers Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, KfW‐IPEX Bank GmbH, Dexia Crédit Local and Société Générale on a EUR 1bn debt financing of the German offshore wind farm project Global Tech I. This was successfully signed on 7 July 2011. To date, this is the biggest finance deal in the German offshore wind market.
Once completed, Global Tech I will comprise of 80 wind energy turbines with a total capacity of 400 MW – enough to supply 445,000 households with renewable energy. The wind farm will be built in the North Sea, about 180 km north west of Bremerhaven, Germany. The offshore installation process is scheduled to be completed in 2013.
The project financing includes a direct loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), partly guaranteed by several commercial banks (listed below). The initial mandated lead arrangers arranged and structured the project financing. Through syndication, which closed on 7 July 2011, the EIB and the initial mandated lead arrangers were joined by a further 12 banks, including: The Bank of Tokyo‐Mitsubishi UFJ Limited, Dekabank Deutsche Girozentrale, DnB NOR Bank ASA, HSH Nordbank AG, ING Bank N.V., Natixis (Deutschland), Rabobank, Banco de Sabadell S.A., Banco Santander S.A., SEB, ASN Bank N.V. and NIBC Bank N.V. In addition, Global Tech I Offshore Wind GmbH has applied for a direct loan from project finance bank KfWʹs special offshore wind energy programme .This application is currently under review.
The project sponsors of Global Tech I Offshore Wind GmbH are: Stadtwerke München GmbH, HEAG Südhessische Energie AG, EGL Holding Luxembourg AG, Esportes Offshore Beteiligungs GmbH, Windreich AG, FC Windenergy GmbH, GTU I GmbH and Norderland Projekt GmbH.
Watson, Farley & Williams has been advising the initial mandated lead arrangers on the Global Tech I project since September 2009. In addition to working on the financing documents, the firm’s lawyers have advised on the structuring of the project, the syndication of the loans and assisted the banks with negotiating the contracts required for the project’s construction, including an agreement with Areva Wind GmbH for the delivery and maintenance of 80 wind energy turbines. Watson, Farley & Williams will continue to advise the banks until the financial close of the project.
The Watson, Farley & Williams team was led by Hamburg partners Dr. Marcus Bechtel (Corporate) and Dr. Stefan Kilgus (Project Finance). They were supported by Hamburg partners Dr. Malte Jordan (Corporate), Gerrit Bartsch (Tax) and Verena Scheibe (Tax) as well as Hamburg associates Sven Fretthold (Senior Associate, Project Finance), Dr. Christine Bader (Senior Associate, Public Procurement/Corporate), Cathrin Krüger (Corporate), Stefan Hoffmann (Corporate), Alexander Schroer (Corporate) and Dr. Wichard von Hoff (Project Finance), and London associates James Rennard (Project Finance), Iris Wong (Project Finance) and Daisy East (Project Finance).
Dr. Marcus Bechtel, partner and Head of Watson, Farley & Williams’ Energy practice in Germany comments: “We are delighted to have worked on this landmark deal in the German offshore wind market. The financing of Global Tech I, one of Germany’s most ambitious projects ever, is considered to be the biggest finance deal in the German offshore wind market to date.
This project allowed us to demonstrate Watson, Farley & Williams’ significant renewable energy sector expertise across integrated legal disciplines. Our practice continues to grow on the strength of high quality work we deliver for our clients. ”
