July 2017 – Astris closes the refinancing of the Florida 1 Wind Farm in Uruguay
We are happy to announce the closing of our first project in Uruguay, extending Astris's lead in the renewable energy sector throughout Latin America
Astris Finance advised Akuo and Cubico (together the “Sponsors”) on the refinancing of a 50 MW Wind Farm project located in Florida, Uruguay (the “Project”). The Project benefits from a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Administración Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones Eléctricas (“UTE”).
The Project was originally developed by Akuo and was completed in 2014. The Project had been initially financed by a syndicate of European Development Finance Institutions, including Proparco, DEG and FMO.
The USD 81.3m Refinancing Facility were arranged jointly by CaixaBank and Export Development Canada, acting as co-Mandated Lead Arrangers. Benefiting from the current market conditions, the Sponsors were able through the refinancing to extend the maturity, lower the debt service and reduce financing costs.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Sponsors.
July 2017 - Sponsor advised by Astris is awarded a USD 224 Mn road PPP contract in Mexico
We are pleased to announce that Sacyr Concesiones, advised by Astris, was awarded the Piramides – Tulancingo – Pachuca highway conservation project, which covers 183 km between the states of Mexico and Hidalgo.
The SCT received a total of ten bids for the USD 224 Mn PPP regarding the modernization and maintenance of the highway over the next ten years. The project is among four conservation tenders launched by the Mexican government in the first half of 2017.
Astris will now work with Sacyr in the debt financing of the project, which is expected to close before the end of the year.
April 2017 - Astris closes the refinancing of Solaire Durance in France
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful refinancing of a portfolio of Solar PV assets owned by DIF, Caisse des Dépôts and Solairedirect in France. This is the sixth portfolio refinancing transaction closed by Astris in the past eighteen months in the European renewable sector.
Astris Finance advised DIF, Caisse des Dépôts and Solairedirect (together the “Sponsors”) in connection with the refinancing (the “Refinancing”) of a portfolio of operating PV assets located in the South-East of France (the “Portfolio”), originally developed by SolaireDirect. The Portfolio has a total installed capacity of 34 MWp, spread over 4 ground-mounted power plants.
The power plants composing the Portfolio have been completed between 2009 and 2011, and had been initially financed separately through non-recourse project finance facilities. The Sponsors took advantage of the attractive market conditions and of the Portfolio’s outstanding operational track record to refinance its existing debt. The refinancing allowed the Sponsors to extend the maturity, lower debt service coverage ratios and reduce financing cost.
The EUR 145 mEUR facility was led by Auxifip (part of the Crédit Agricole group), the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation acting as co-Mandated Lead Arrangers, with the participation of BPI France.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Sponsors for the raising of the 145 mEUR facility. Astris is currently mandated on several similar refinancing transactions in Europe for solar and wind power plant portfolios.
March 2017 - Deal of the Year Award for the Kingston Container Terminal Financing
Astris-led KCT financing awarded North American Port Deal of the Year 2016 by IJ Global's Jury!
Astris is pleased to announce that the financing of the privatization and expansion of the container terminal in Kingston, Jamaica, received a Deal of the Year Award during the IJ Global Deal of the Year Awards Ceremony in New York City.
Astris advised CMA CGM, third largest shipping line in the world throughout the financing process all the way to the closing of a US$ 265m debt package for a port which started operations in July 1st as CMA CGM's main transshipment hub in the Caribbean.
Astris has been particularly active in the port sector, a sector where we think our ability to navigate complex business models and address bankability issues make a difference in a sector where project finance is a challenge.
Astris continues to be very busy in Central America and the Caribbean, a region where we have closed visible transactions in the infrastructure and power space.
January 2017 - Sponsor advised by Astris signs its first PPAs in Argentina as part of the RenovAr auction
Astris Finance acted as exclusive Financial Advisor to EREN Renewable Energy S.A. (“EREN”) in connection with its bid into the renewable program sponsored by the Government of Argentina, called “RenovAr.” The first round of RenovAr has served as the first stage of the re-opening of the Argentine market for international energy and infrastructure projects. EREN was awarded a power purchase agreement (“PPA”) in October 2016 for a 97.2 MW wind project in the province of Santa Cruz. The PPA provides the project with an offtake for 20 years starting at the end of construction. EREN’s project company executed its PPA in January 2017. Astris is now working on the financing of the project for which closing is expected during the course of 2017.
January 2017 - Sponsor advised by Astris is awarded 119 MW of Renewable PPA in El Salvador
El Salvador distribution company Delsur awarded 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) to a combined 169.9MW of wind and solar projects in the country's second utility scale power auction on January 11 2017 - we are very proud to announce that our client Neoen, advised by Astris won the vast majority of the PV capacity auctioned by Delsur, 100 MW. Astris will now work with Neoen to raise the financing for these projects slated to close in H2 2017 / Q1 2018.
This is our second project in El Salvador with Neoen, following the successful closing of Providencia Solar, the country's first non recourse project financing in the power space.
Astris is also advising a consortium of US and local developers in connection with a c. 400 MW LNG to power project in El Salvador, slated to close in H2 2017.
November 2016 - Providencia Solar, El Salvador, Closes and Funds
Astris is pleased to announce the successful closing and funding of a 102 MWp solar PV facility in El Salvador. Astris advised project sponsor-developer Neoen on all matters pertaining to project development and financing all the way to this successful first disbursement on the first non recourse financing in the power sector in the country. The financing package has been raised from a club of agencies including the Inter-American Investment Corporation, the Canadian Climate Fund, and Proparco. To make this investment possible, Astris played a pivotal role in negotiating key amendments to the PPA to achieve a threshold level of bankability.
Astris is advising Neoen on renewable projects in Portugal, in Mexico and in El Salvador, in connection with the upcoming auction (UPDATE: Neoen, advised by Astris, was successfully awarded 119.9 MW of PV in this subsequent auction).
September 2016 - Kingston Container Terminal Closes and Funds
US$ 265m long term debt package underwritten by a club of agencies for the financing of CMA CGM transshipment hub in the Caribbean.
Astris is pleased to announce the successful closing and funding of the financing for the expansion and rehabilitation of the Kingston Container Terminal in Jamaica. Astris advised CMA CGM throughout the financing process all the way to disbursement. The US$ 265m debt package is underwritten by a club of agencies including the Inter-american Investment Corporation (IIC), PROPARCO, DEG, FMO, CIFI as well as a number of B Lenders. This transaction illustrates Astris's ability to support our clients through challenging financing processes involving many lenders often in the most complex environment from a credit perspective. We are very proud of this achievement which adds to Astris's track record in the port sector.
August 2016 - Consortium advised by Astris is awarded US$ 600m road project in Colombia
Vinci Concessions and Conconcreto, advised by Astris, logged the winning bid for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Bogota-Girardot toll road project in Colombia, initially developed as a private initiative. Astris will now continue working with the consortium on the financing of the project, slated to close in H2 2017. Astris has been advising the consortium in Colombia since 2013, where Astris has been almost continuously working since 2010. Execution of the mandate is coordinated between our offices in Bogota, Paris and Washington DC.
July 2016 - PiO and Terminal Link enter into a Co-Investment Partnership to develop Puerto Antioquia
Puerto Antioquia is a 650,000 TEU port development in the Gulf of Uraba, Colombia on which Astris has been advising PiO and Terminal Link, the joint venture between CMA CGM of France and China Merchants
On behalf of our clients Terminal Link and PiO S.A.S Astris is pleased to announce that Terminal Link and PiO S.A.S have signed a Memorandum of Understanding thus formalizing their association to develop the Puerto Antioquia project, a 650,000 TEU port development in the Gulf of Uraba, Colombia.
The Project, whose development was initiated by PiO S.A.S, consists in the development of a multipurpose terminal located near the city of Turbo.
The project will:
· serve as a gateway to the region of Antioquia (Medellin) and the interior of the country taking advantage of Uraba’s location and proximity to the Panama Canal.
· cater to the needs of the local fruit export industry which currently exports 1.7 mtpa of fruits to Europe and the US without any port infrastructure at the moment.
In its first phase, the terminal will be able to handle 650,000 TEU’s/year.
Construction works are expected to start in early 2017.
Astris advised PiO and Terminal Link on the structuring of the co-investment and development partnership. Astris is now advising the equity partners on the last stretch of project development and debt raising.
July 2016 – Astris to act as exclusive financial advisor to a renewable energy independent producer in connection with various investment opportunities in South-East Asia
Astris has been retained by a leading French Renewable Energy Independent Producer to advise on the acquisition and/or financing of several greenfield and brownfield solar-generated power plants across South-East Asia, including Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
June 2016 - Astris to act as buy-side financial advisor in connection with the possible acquisition of a minority stake in a Toll Road asset in Indonesia
Astris has been retained by a leading transportation developer and operator to assist on the preliminary due diligence and on the structuring of a bid offer in connection with an operating toll road asset.
May 2016 - Astris closes the refinancing of the 99 solar power plants of Langa in France
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful refinancing of a portfolio of 99 building-integrated and ground-mounted solar power plants developed and owned by Langa in France. This is the fifth portfolio refinancing transaction closed by Astris in the past seven months in the renewable sector.
Astris Finance advised Langa, a French solar developer, in connection with the refinancing (the “Refinancing”) of its portfolio of operating PV assets in mainland France and Corsica (the “Portfolio”). The Portfolio has a total installed capacity of 49 MWp, spread over 97 building-integrated plants (40 MWp) and 2 ground-mounted power plant ( 9 MWp), held by 21 SPVs.
Langa is an independent French solar IPP that develops, builds, owns and operates renewable energy facilities mainly in France. Langa owns ca. 82 MWp of renewable energy projects in operation in France, of which 70 MWp are PV plants, and is currently developing a 452 MWp pipeline of solar PV and wind projects. Langa is part of the Neworld Energies group, which also owns various subsidiaries dedicated to energy efficiency and operation of energy production facilities.
The power plants composing the Portfolio have been completed between 2011 and 2014, and were initially financed on a project by project basis through non-recourse project finance facilities. Langa took advantage of the attractive market conditions and of the Portfolio’s outstanding operational track record to refinance its existing debt. The refinancing allowed Langa to extend the maturity of its financing to 16 years, lower debt service coverage ratios and significantly reduce the cost of financing.
The EUR 150 million facility is led by Unifergie and La Banque Postale acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers, with the participation of BPI, Triodos and Arkea. The debt is located at the level of a holding company that owns all project SPVs within the Portfolio. The proceeds of the Refinancing will be used by Langa to cover corporate expenses and to fund its ambitious growth strategy.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Langa for the raising of the 150 mEUR facility, which marks a true first in terms of numbers of assets for a solar portfolio refinancing. In particular, Astris designed a tailor made due diligence process in order to provide the lenders with satisfactory legal and technical review across the 99 assets.
April 2016 - Astris closes the refinancing of the Solar PV Assets of Photosol in France
Astris Finance is pleased to announce the successful refinancing of a portfolio of operating solar plants developped and owned by Photosol in France. This is the fourth portfolio refinancing transaction closed by Astris in the past six months in the renewable sector
Astris Finance advised Photosol, a French solar developer, in connection with the refinancing (the "Refinancing") of its portfolio of operating PV assets in mainland France and the Reunion (the "Portfolio"). The Portfolio has a total installed capacity of 64 MWp, spread over 7 ground-mounted power plants (56.5 MWp) and 3 building-integrated plants (7.5 MWp).
The power plants composing the Portfolio have been completed between 2011 and 2014, and had been initially financed separately through non-recourse project finance facilities. Photosol took profit of the attractive market conditions and of the Portfolio¹s outstanding operational track record to refinance its existing debt. The refinancing allowed Photosol to extend the maturity of its financing to 16,75 years, lower debt service coverage ratios and reduce financing cost.
The EUR 103.7 million facility was led by Natixis Energeco acting as Mandated Lead Arranger, with the participation of La Banque Postale, BPI, Crédit du Nord and Banque Palatine as participants.
Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to Photosol for the raising of the 103.7 mEUR facility. Astris is currently mandated on five similar refinancing transactions in Europe for solar and wind power plant portfolios.
March 2016 - Astris advises Sonnedix on two portfolio refinancings and successfully closes some EUR 300m of financing for the group
Astris consolidates its leadership in the renewable energy market by closing two portfolio refinancing of solar assets - a highly sophisticated and structured way to releverage portfolios of assets in operation taking advantage of attractive conditions in the debt markets
Astris Finance advised Sonnedix, a global Solar Independent Power Producer, in connection with the refinancing of two portfolios:
"Eagle" Refinancing Assets
- six operating ground-mounted solar plants located in France with a total installed capacity of 57.3 MWp - "Eagle" refinancing closed in December 2015
- four operating solar power plants located in the south of France with a total installed capacity of 23.6 MWp acquired by Sonnedix in December 2015 - "Sapphire" refinancing closed in March 2016
Since their completion, each asset in the two portfolios has had outstanding operational performance, significantly exceeding initial production and cash-flow forecasts. By leveraging on the plants’ excellent performance, the two refinancings took advantage of attractive market conditions to increase the quantum of debt and improve the quality of the debt backed by the two portfolios (extended maturity, lower coverage ratios and tighter margins).
Natixis, Banco Santander and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd, a member of the MUFG Group were selected on the Eagle Transaction, whereas The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and La Banque Postale were selected as lenders for the second refinancing.
Our team has developed a unique technology and structuring toolbox to optimize portfolio refinancings across several SPVs (up to 99 in one case) which we put to use to extract more value from portfolios in operation for our developer clients.
April 2016 – Astris to appoint Michael C. Sagcal as Astris’ Country Representative in the Philippines
Astris Finance is very pleased to announce that Michael C. Sagcal has joined its team as Country Representative based in Manila, Philippines.
Prior to joining Astris Finance, Michael was Spokesperson and Communications Director at the Philippines’ Department of Transportation from 2012 to 2015. While concurrently serving as Senior Project Development Officer in 2013, he worked on special issues in the structuring and tender of the agency’s first set of PPPs: the USD 1.3 Bn LRT-1 Extension, the USD 340 Mn Mactan-Cebu International Airport, and the USD 34 Mn LRT-MRT Automatic Fare Collection System.
He spent two years at a law firm from 2010 to 2012, where his infrastructure and energy practice included acting as transaction advisor to the PPP Center and advising the National Renewable Energy Board in formulating the country’s landmark Feed-In Tariff Rules.
Michael earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Philippines in 2009 and his Diploma in Corporate Finance from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2014. He also attended the PPP Foundation Masterclass Program at Her Majesty’s Treasury – Infrastructure UK as a Mansion House Scholar in 2012.
March 2016 - Astris voted Financial Advisor of the Year 2015 for the Americas by IJ Global!
Award season! In addition Lima L2 Metro deal was voted "Multi Source Financing of the Year 2015"
We made it! Astris has been voted Financial Advisor of the Year Americas 2015! Our team left the gala dinner with a Deal of the Year award for the Lima L2 Metro transaction (Multi Source Financing of the Year Latin America), and the coveted Financial Advisor of the Year Award! We thank our clients and partners for their trust in our team.
March 2016 - Astris completes 12MW Wind Permit Sale in France
Astris Finance advised Eco Delta, a French wind developer, in connection with the straight sale of a 12 MW wind permit to the German closed end fund Leonidas. Astris Finance’s scope encompassed the market consultation, the investor selection, the detailed negotiation of the SPA terms and conditions and the closing process. In addition, Astris Finance was deeply involved in the finalization of the permitting process and was in charge of coordinating the vendor due diligence process.
Astris is currently mandated on similar wind transactions in Europe and Africa.
February 2016 - Astris hires Santiago Pardo as Managing Director based in Bogotá, Colombia
Astris Finance is very pleased to announce that Santiago Pardo has joined its team as Managing Director based in Bogotá, Colombia.
Santiago will head the Colombia office of Astris Finance. In Colombia, the firm has been working on the government’s road concession program known as 4G for the past three years, and is also involved in conventional and renewable energy, oil and gas, and in the port sector. Santiago will also strengthen Astris’s presence in the Andean region, and particularly in Peru where Astris has been one of the leading infrastructure and energy advisors in the past years.
Over the past 20 years, Santiago Pardo has acquired a unique blend of infrastructure finance experience, encompassing both the corporate perspective and the banking perspective. He has developed very strong expertise in project finance, debt capital markets, M&A, project development, and private equity. His industry track record spans oil & gas, infrastructure, power, and mining.
Santiago began his career at Citibank Colombia in 1991, moving to New York in 1997 where he worked for 11 years with Citi’s Infrastructure and Energy Finance Group, including 6 years as head of the Latin America team. During this time, he was directly responsible for closing over 20 transactions in 12 different countries in the Americas, raising over USD 8 billion in funding from multiple sources.
Santiago moved back to Colombia in 2008, where he transitioned to the corporate side, serving as Project Finance Director for Reficar, an Ecopetrol-developed refinery project, then as Managing Director for Infrastructure and Energy at Abacus Capital, a local asset manager; from 2011 to 2014, he was CFO of TGI, the largest natural gas pipeline company in Colombia; and most recently (2014-2016), he served as CFO of La Luna Resources, an E&P company developing conventional and unconventional resources in Colombia. For these last two roles, he was selected as CFO by the major private equity investors backing these companies. At TGI, he personally led the refinancing of TGI’s USD 1,125 million debt in the international capital markets, and assisted CVCI in their successful exit of their investment in TGI for USD 880 million.
Santiago holds an MBA (with distinction) from the Johnson School at Cornell University, as well as a B.S. in economics from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá. He is fluent in English and Spanish, and conversational in Portuguese.
November 2015 – Astris to Act as Financial Advisor in connection with the financial feasibility study of a 1800 MW hydropower plant project in Papua New Guinea
Astris has been retained by a leading Italian construction company to conduct the financial feasibility study of a greenfield 1800-MW hydroelectric power plant project in Papua New Guinea.