Baker McKenzie acts on $A500 million Macarthur Wind Farm refinancing

PRESS RELEASE

Sydney, Australia, 27 June 2018 – Baker McKenzie successfully represented a syndicate of lenders on the successful refinancing of the approx. AUD $500 million debt facility and hedging arrangements in relation to the Malakoff Corporation Berhad’s (MCB) 50 per cent interest in the Macarthur Wind Farm.

The Macarthur Wind Farm is located in south-west Victoria. MCB is a Malaysian power producer which acquired 50 per cent stake in the Macarthur Wind Farm in June 2013.

Baker McKenzie lead partner on the refinancing, Sean Rush stated: “The Macarthur Wind Farm is the biggest in the southern hemisphere, comprising 140 turbines with 420 megawatts (MW) of capacity.

Construction of the $1 billion Macarthur Wind Farm took approximately 2.5 years and has been in operation since January 2013.

The 420 MW Macarthur Wind Farm can generate enough clean energy to power the equivalent of approximately 154,000 average Australian homes.”

Sean further commented: “We were delighted to have acted, following previous involvement in the acquisition and financing by MCB of its interest in the Macarthur Wind Farm and subsequent sale by AGL of its interest in the Macarthur Wind Farm to private equity firm, HRL Morrison & Co.

“Not surprisingly, we had an excellent knowledge and understanding of the project and hence, were well positioned to advise the incoming lenders.” The financiers included BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Mizuho, Black Rock, OCBC and ING.

Sean was assisted by a Baker McKenzie team comprising: senior associate, Robyn Farrell and lawyer, Luis Grech (Banking & Finance team) along with partner, Paul Curnow; special counsel, Kate Phillips; and lawyer, Ritu Thomas (Environmental Markets team).

In late March, Baker McKenzie advised the financiers on the project financing of the Bulgana Green Power Hub (BGPH) in Victoria, an integrated wind farm and battery storage facility – Neoen’s largest single-stage project in Australia.

Located in Stawell, regional Victoria, the BGPH will comprise a 194 MW wind farm with Siemens-Gamesa wind turbines, combined with a 20 MW / 34 MWh lithium-ion battery provided by Tesla.