WFW and Eversheds Sutherland advise on the signing of a €500m loan facility for Sonnedix
Watson Farley & Williams and Eversheds Sutherland have advised on the signing of an innovative €500m loan facility for Sonnedix to finance the construction of its renewable development pipeline in Europe and the UK, particularly in Spain, Italy and England. The new, non-recourse facility allows Sonnedix to cluster, contract and construct its pipeline of renewable plants more efficiently and flexibly.
The €500m multicurrency facility can be drawn in euros or pounds sterling and includes a €450m capital expenditure facility and a €50m letter of credit facility. The loan was provided by a consortium of six commercial lenders acting as mandated lead arrangers and hedging banks: BBVA, CIBC, NatWest, Rabobank, Sabadell, and Santander. Santander also acted as agent.
Sonnedix is a global renewable energy producer with over a decade-long trajectory of sustainable growth and currently has a total capacity of over 10GW. Sonnedix develops, builds and operates renewable energy projects for the long-term, with a focus on providing green, affordable electricity to our customers and acting as a true social citizen there where it operates.
WFW´s cross border team
WFW’s cross-border, multi-disciplinary team advising Sonnedix has been comprised of members from the Spanish, Italian and English offices.
Financial advice on Spanish and Italian law was provided by Rodrigo Berasategui, financial partner in Madrid, and Cheng Zhou, associate, and Mario D’Ovidio, financial partner in Milan, and Daniele Sani, associate, respectively.
Tax advice was provided by Madrid partner Luis Soto, who worked with London partner Claire Miles, senior associate Javier Gabiña in Madrid and senior associate Alfredo Guacci in Milan.
The cross-border, multidisciplinary team was led by London Projects partner Katherine Best, who worked with senior associates Abraham Knight and Victoria Gow, associates Rachel Lee and Ben Harvey, and intern Diana Ciurezu. London partners Simon Ovenden and Rob McBride provided capital markets and hedging advice, supported by associates Chris Madoc-Jones and Kristina Buckberry.
Macedo Vitorino and Van Campen Liem acted as Sonnedix’s Portuguese and Dutch counsel respectively.
Eversheds Sutherland team
Eversheds Sutherland have advised BBVA, CIBC, NatWest, Rabobank, Banco Sabadell, and Santander, all of whom serve as commercial lenders for Sonnedix.
The team overseeing the operation from Spain included our Banking and Finance partner Teresa Villarroya Vargas, along with Marta Becker and Eugenia García-Calzada Villar. It also included Teresa Villarroya Vargas, Ricardo Couto and Miguel Lorena Brito, from the Madrid and Lisbon offices respectively.
