Several firms assist in $85m Genneia financing
Pérez Alati Grondona Benites & Arntsen (PAGBAM) has assisted Genneia, an Argentine renewable energy developer and generator, and Bruchou & Funes de Rioja and Tanoira Cassagne Abogados (TCA) have assisted the lenders and trustee, respectively, in financing Genneia for up to US$ 85,000,000.
The funds will be used for the construction, commissioning and maintenance of the wind farms “La Elbita I” and “La Elbita II”, located in the city of Tandil, province of Buenos Aires, with a total of 140 MW of installed capacity, as well as the solar farm “Tocota III”, located in the province of San Juan, with a total of 60 MW of installed capacity.
Nederlandse Financierings – Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) and Development Finance Institute Canada (FinDev) acted as lenders, while Banco Comafi acted as trustee. Norton Rose Fulbright acted as international advisor to FMO and FinDev.
This transaction is FinDev’s first financing to an Argentinean company. The 10-year term loan will be secured by a fiduciary assignment of the debtor’s rights of collection on certain power purchase and sale contracts under the Term Electricity Market for Renewable Energy (MATER).
Thanks to the development of these projects, Genneia will be the first Argentine company to reach 1,100 MW of installed capacity from renewable sources, thanks to its 11 renewable energy parks distributed throughout Argentina.
FinDev Canada is Canada’s bilateral development finance institution. It supports private sector development in emerging markets and developing economies with financing, investment, blended finance solutions and technical assistance. It aims to promote sustainable and inclusive growth with a focus on climate action, women’s economic empowerment and market development in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement commitments. FinDev Canada is a Canadian public company and a subsidiary of Export Development Canada (EDC).
FMO is a Dutch development bank based in The Hague (The Netherlands) that promotes investment in key sectors for economic and social progress, supporting sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. FMO focuses on three sectors with high development impact: financial institutions, energy and agribusiness, food and water.
In-house lawyers advising on the transaction were Eduardo Segura, Delfina Aira and Matías Fraga for Genneia; Theodore Colombo and Riccardo Lento for FinDev; and Maria Fernández-Daza de Flórez and Sabrina Klein for FMO.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s team was represented by partner Jeremy A. Hushon.
PAGBAM’s team consisted of partners Diego Serrano Redonnet (pictured top left) and Facundo Fernández Santos (pictured top centre), counsel Tomás Fernández Madero, and associates Alejo Muñoz de Toro, Juan Ignacio Dighero and Florencia Gonzalez Klebs.
Bruchou & Funes de Rioja’s team included partners Matías López Figueroa (pictured bottom right), Daniela Rey (pictured bottom centre) and Ignacio Minorini Lima (pictured bottom left), and associates Leandro E. Belusci, Branko Serventich, Pablo Muir, Cecilia Calosso and Manuel Mazza.
TCA’s team was led by partner Alexia Rosenthal (pictured top right), with support from associates Ignacio Criado Díaz and Lucía Viboud Aramendi.