Latham & Watkins advised the Joint Lead Managers, BNP Paribas, Citibank, HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered Bank, the Co-Manager, Mizuho Securities, and Bond Trustee, Citibank, on Ruwais Power Company’s issuance of US$825 million Senior Secured 6.0% Bonds due 2036. The issuance closed on 6 August 2013 and was very well-received by investors.
Ruwais Power Company owns and operates a combined cycle power generation and water desalination project located in the Shuweihat complex in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The project has been in commercial operation since October 18, 2011 and has a contracted capacity of 1,503 MW of net power capacity and 100 million imperial gallons per day of net water capacity. The sponsors of the project are the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA), Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, International Power S.A., Marubeni Corporation and Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.
Partner Craig Nethercott, who led the Latham & Watkins team, commented: “The success of the transaction shows that project bonds are a viable refinancing option for energy and infrastructure projects in the Middle East. We believe this transaction will set a new path for the optimization of the debt in project financing assets in the region.”
The Latham & Watkins deal team included Dubai partner Craig Nethercott, Abu Dhabi partner Villiers Terblanche, Hong Kong partner Bryant Edwards and London partner Lene Malthasen with Dubai associates Nomaan Raja and Chirag Sanghrajka.
