PLMJ advises financiers on the €2.3b transaction for the first section of the high-speed rail line in Portugal

PLMJ has advised on the concession contract for the first section of the railway line that will link Porto and Oiã, as part of a public-private partnership (PPP) project.

This is one of the largest investments in history, worth €2.3 billion, guaranteed by the European Investment Bank and a group of various institutions, including banks and insurance companies, such as national entities Novo Banco, Millennium BCP, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Caixa BI, international banks such as Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, BBVA, La Banque Postale and Deutsche Bank, and insurance companies such as Canada Life, Metlife, Manulife, MEAG and LBPAM. For many of these institutions, this is their first operation in Portugal.

The PLMJ team, which formed a consortium with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, was led by Pedro Siza Vieira, partner in the Banking and Finance and Capital Markets area, and Maria Zagallo, partner in the Public area. The transaction required several months of negotiations and involved more than a dozen lawyers, including Luis Miguel Vasconcelos, coordinating associate in the Banking and Finance department, and Pedro de Almeida Fernandes, associate in the same department. The Corporate M&A and Tax departments also participated.